Golden Knights Place Three In COVID Protocol
Add Vegas to the list of teams that are now missing players due to COVID protocol as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Shea Theodore and centers Nicolas Roy and Nolan Patrick have all entered COVID protocol. Assuming these are for confirmed positive tests, they’ll be out for at least the next five days.
Theodore has been a key part of the back end for the Golden Knights this season and is off to a strong start offensively with 25 points in 35 games. Roy is also off to a career-best start with 19 points in 35 contests, already surpassing his previous high in points which is a great start to his contract year. As for Patrick, he only recently returned from an upper-body injury that cost him 29 games and while this is only a short-term setback, he has unfortunately had a lot of setbacks in recent years.
Taking their spots on the active roster for the time being are blueliner Daniil Miromanov, center Jake Leschyshyn, and winger Jonas Rondbjerg. All three have spent time with Vegas – Leschyshyn playing the most having suited up in 19 games – and will now be called upon for tonight’s game against Toronto. While Adam Brooks was eligible to be recalled from his conditioning stint in Henderson, they’ve elected to leave him there a little longer.
Pacific Notes: Doughty, Theodore, Ryan
The Kings have had a significant hole on their back end since Drew Doughty suffered a knee injury late last month although, to their credit, they’ve managed to post a 7-4-1 record without him. At the time, it was announced that he was expected to miss at least eight weeks. It appears he is well ahead of schedule as NHL.com’s Dan Greenspan mentions that the veteran defenseman was back at practice on Friday, albeit in a non-contact sweater. The club was hoping he’d be able to resume skating at the six-week mark so he’s a couple of weeks ahead of schedule on that front. Head coach Todd McLellan cautioned that Doughty will need some time before he’s ready to play but it certainly looks like he could be suiting up for Los Angeles a little sooner than expected.
More from the Pacific:
- The Golden Knights were without Shea Theodore in Thursday’s victory over Detroit but it doesn’t appear as if he’ll be out for too long. Head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters including David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that while there was no timeline for his return, he is progressing well and was supposed to get a full practice in Friday. Theodore hit his head off the boards on Tuesday and at this point, it seems like he’ll be listed as day-to-day.
- Oilers center Derek Ryan is listed as day-to-day with concussion-like symptoms, relays Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran played just under nine minutes versus Winnipeg on Thursday and has just one goal in 15 games so far this season. He’s not expected to be available tonight but he may be available to return at some point during their upcoming three-game road trip that starts on Tuesday.
Injury Notes: Hayes, Golden Knights, Carrier
Center Kevin Hayes didn’t take warmups and isn’t playing for the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as originally reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach Alain Vigneault originally expected Hayes to play and he nor the team have yet to offer an update on Hayes’ absence. Max Willman was recalled from Lehigh Valley today under emergency conditions and is in the lineup for that game. Hayes has two points in two games this season after missing the team’s first 12 games while recovering from offseason core muscle surgery.
More injury notes from around the NHL:
- The injury parade continues for the Vegas Golden Knights, as The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports defenseman Shea Theodore is unlikely to suit up for Thursday’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Theodore fell awkwardly during the Knights’ last game Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, a 4-2 loss. The team hasn’t moved Theodore to injured reserve, but he joins Alec Martinez on the list of Golden Knights defensemen absent from the lineup. However, Granger notes that Zach Whitecloud is “progressing quickly” and could potentially suit up for the Detroit game.
- Per Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes, defenseman Alexandre Carrier could return to the team’s lineup Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Carrier isn’t on injured reserve, but he’s been out of the lineup for the past week with an undisclosed injury. In 13 games this season, the 25-year-old has five points while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.
Injury Notes: Matthews, Theodore, Karlstrom, Dach
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a welcome sight at practice today when Auston Matthews joined the main group for the first time. Matthews is rehabbing from offseason wrist surgery and had been working out on his own previously, but will now be part of the non-contact drills as he progresses toward full strength. The star center is still on track to be ready for the start of the season, though it is not clear if he will participate in any of the team’s remaining exhibition games.
More injury notes from around the league:
- The Vegas Golden Knights were missing Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb at practice today, though neither one is considered seriously injured. Head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters including Jesse Granger of The Athletic that Theodore is day-to-day, while McNabb does not have any structural damage to his injured leg. Mark Stone, who was also dealing with a minor injury, was back at practice and “is going to be fine” according to DeBoer.
- The Dallas Stars had both Jani Hakanpaa and Fredrik Karlstrom leave last night’s game with injuries, but head coach Rick Bowness tells team reporter Mike Heika that the former will be just day-to-day. Karlstrom meanwhile will be out “longer” than that, though it’s not clear exactly what that means. The 23-year-old forward has spent the last several seasons in the SHL but is in camp competing for a spot on the NHL roster as his entry-level deal approaches its expiry. Karlstrom is only under contract through the end of this season and has to this point not played a professional game in North America.
- Kirby Dach, who missed a huge chunk of last season due to wrist surgery, told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic that he’s feeling back to 100 percent and has for a while now. He no longer has to think about the injured wrist, which limited him to just 18 games in 2020-21. Still just 20 years old, Dach is poised to assume a huge amount of responsibility for the Blackhawks as a top-six center and should be considered a true breakout contender, given his likely linemates. If the Blackhawks want to contend for the playoffs this season, they’ll need a big performance out of the young forward.
Nominees Announced For 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2019.
Past winners of the award include Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014) and Josh Harding (2013).
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Miller
Arizona Coyotes – Conor Garland
Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller
Buffalo Sabres – Curtis Lazar
Calgary Flames – Mark Giordano
Carolina Hurricanes – James Reimer
Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford
Colorado Avalanche – Ryan Graves
Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Gerbe
Dallas Stars – Stephen Johns
Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri
Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid
Florida Panthers – Noel Acciari
Los Angeles Kings – Jonathan Quick
Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
Montreal Canadiens – Shea Weber
Nashville Predators – Jarred Tinordi
New Jersey Devils – Travis Zajac
New York Islanders – Thomas Hickey
New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist
Ottawa Senators – Bobby Ryan
Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom
Pittsburgh Penguins – Evgeni Malkin
San Jose Sharks – Joe Thornton
St. Louis Blues – Jay Bouwmeester
Toronto Maple Leafs – Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks – Jacob Markstrom
Vegas Golden Knights – Shea Theodore
Washington Capitals – Michal Kempny
Winnipeg Jets – Mark Letestu
Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.
Morning Notes: Theodore, Flyers, Pettersson
You can bet Shea Theodore didn’t have the summer he was expecting. After failing a random drug test at the World Championship because of an elevated hormone level, Theodore was informed that it was not because of a supplement but he in fact had testicular cancer and would need surgery right away. The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman opened up about the situation in an article for the Players’ Tribune today, explaining that though it was a frightful time in his life he has fully recovered.
Theodore said that Phil Kessel reached out this summer to give his support, given that the veteran forward dealt with the same diagnosis years ago. Theodore credits that drug test with potentially saving him from a battle that would have much more difficult, and implores everyone to get checked regularly and be open with your physician.
- The Philadelphia Flyers are getting closer to a deal with Ivan Provorov, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. The two sides are still working through the negotiation and both three and six year deals are on the table, but things have turned positive in recent days. It seems as though things aren’t so rosy for the other Flyers’ RFA, as McKenzie tweets that Travis Konecny is not close to a new deal. The pair are huge parts of the Philadelphia future and will hopefully join the team in training camp soon with freshly inked deals.
- That’s exactly what is happening for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who is joining the team and expected to sign in the “next day or so” according to McKenzie. The deal will be a short-term contract, but would mean the team has their full complement of players in camp. The Penguins do appear to have too many NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster at the moment, meaning a trade or waivers is coming for at least one. Of course, that is contingent on the rest of the group staying healthy through camp, which is not a certainty anywhere around the NHL.
Pacific Notes: Vlasic, Eakin, Anderson
With the series hitting Vegas and both teams deadlocked at one, the San Jose Sharks already have hit a road bump as The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that the head coach Peter DeBoer said the team will be inserting reserve defenseman Tim Heed into the lineup and Marc-Edouard Vlasic will miss Game 3 with an undisclosed injury.
Vlasic left Friday’s game during the second period after replays look like he blocked a shot from Shea Theodore with his arm, although Kurz wonders whether the shot may have gone off his head. DeBoer declined to reveal where the puck hit Vlasic. While the 32-year-old’s point totals have dropped this season, he still is the team’s third-best defenseman on the team behind Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson and averaged 21:07 of ATOI this season, which will be a big loss for a Sharks’ team that will want to win one of the next two games to regain home-ice advantage.
The loss of Vlasic will likely mean even more minutes for both Burns and Karlsson. Burns has averaged more than 28 minutes in the first two games of the series, while Karlsson broke 29 minutes in Game 2. Heed will likely be paired with Justin Braun. The team also has recalled defenseman Jacob Middleton from the San Jose Barracuda, according to CapFriendly.
- Vegas Golden Knights third-line center Cody Eakin will be ready to go after suffering an injury to his face during Friday’s game on a hit from Timo Meier, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Eakin was seen on the ice this morning with a jaw protector attached to his helmet. The 27-year-old Eakin finished the season with a career-high 22 goals this season.
- ESPN’s Chris Peters reports that Los Angeles Kings defenseman Michael Anderson has likely played his last collegiate game after the University of Minnesota-Duluth blueliner won his second-straight NCAA championship Saturday. Expect the Kings to sign the 19-year-old sophomore to an entry-level contract soon. Anderson, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2017, is considered to be a solid shutdown defender with impressive leadership skills.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Defenseman Simon Benoit
3/7: The Duck have confirmed the signing and the terms of the deal for Benoit, noting that the first-year pro leads the Gulls and is third among all AHL rookie defensemen in plus/minus, while also leading San Diego rookie defenders in goals, shots, and games played. The strong performance from the under-the-radar junior signing has clearly impressed the Anaheim brass this season.
3/4: The Anaheim Ducks have made an unexpected splash into the free agent market, signing a player off their AHL squad. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the Ducks have signed undrafted QMJHL product Simon Benoit to a three-year entry-level contract. CapFriendly adds that the contract begins next season and carries an AAV of $925K, offset by a $278K signing bonus and $348K in potential performance bonuses over the term of the deal. Benoit has played all season on an AHL contract with the San Diego Gulls.
Benoit, 20, has made the most of his first pro season after he failed to draw NHL interest this past summer. The 6’3″, 192-lb. possession defenseman has established himself as a capable two-way defender in the AHL and looks to have NHL upside. A former standout with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes, Benoit has moved to the pro level seamlessly, recording 12 points and a team-best +17 rating thus far through 50 games with the Gulls.
With San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins as the heavy favorite to take over as head coach in Anaheim next season, the future could be bright for Benoit if he can continue his dependable defensive play. The Ducks have lost Shea Theodore, Sami Vatanen, Marcus Pettersson, and Brandon Montour from their blue line in the last 18 months, opening up the door for prospects to play a bigger role moving forward. With Anaheim’s cap crunch so tight, they are unlikely to make many major additions on the back end this off-season either. With just three core defensemen remaining and signed through next season, it is very likely that there could be three, if not four or five, spots on the Ducks blue line up for grabs in training camp next year. Benoit will certainly throw his hat in the ring and at the very least could earn his NHL debut at some point in the 2019-20 season.
Pacific Notes: Vegas’ Defense, Boeser, Kovalchuk, Luff, McLellan
The Vegas Golden Knights have always followed a general philosophy when it comes to pairing up their defensemen. Head coach Gerard Gallant loves to pair a fast, quick-moving offensive defenseman with a bigger defensive counterpart. However, with Nate Schmidt missing the first 20 games of the season with a suspension, Gallant hasn’t had the opportunity to put together his perfect pairing, which included Schmidt matched up with Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore with Deryk Engelland and Colin Miller paired with Nick Holden.
The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) analyzes those new changes which has produced a 3-0 record since Gallant put those pairings together, including a 2-1 overtime win over Arizona and a pair of shutouts over Calgary and San Jose, Friday and Saturday. That’s just one goal allowed in 183 minutes. While it has been made clear that the team missed Schmidt, Vegas’ entire defense missed him as everyone had been shuffled out of alignment without the speedy blueliner. Without Schmidt, the team lacked a third offensive defenseman as the team had to pair Holden with Jonathon Merrill, which struggled throughout the first quarter of the season.
“It adjusted our defenseman because they all played different roles when Nate was out,” Gallant said. “So, everybody is in their spots now and playing pretty well and they are confident.”
- Rick Dhailwal of Sportsnet reports that he’s heard from a source that Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser is making good progress recovering from his groin injury. The 21-year-old has been out since Nov. 2. The scribe adds that Boeser is getting closer and should be back at some point next week. He has four goals and 11 points in 13 games so far this year.
- One of the Los Angeles Kings struggles comes from the play of major off-season acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk who has failed to record a point in eight straight games, according to Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times. The 35-year-old, who signed a three-year, $18.75MM contract this summer, has gone from the team’s top winger to a third-stringer and has dropped to the second unit of the power play. The team broke their 0-for-16 slump on the power play Saturday with Kovalchuk on the bench.
- Fox Sports Jon Rosen writes that the Kings need to get more playing time to rookie Matt Luff, who has played well since being called up from the AHL. The 21-year-old has three goals in eight games after dominating in Ontario. Head coach Willie Desjardins re-teamed him with Carl Hagelin and Adrian Kempe, which found some success for the Kings. The scribe writes that Luff needs playing time and needs to start receiving power play time as well.
- Rosen also adds that the Kings have no interest in bringing former Edmonton Oilers’ coach Todd McLellan aboard.
Vegas Signs Shea Theodore To Seven-Year Contract
The stand-off between restricted free agent defenseman Shea Theodore and the Vegas Golden Knights is over and ended in a way that few expected after all this time. Late last night – or early this morning for many – Theodore ended his holdout by signing a seven-year extension worth $36.4MM, per a team release. It is a flat structure without any salary fluctuation or bonuses, but does include a modified No-Trade Clause in the final two years, as reported by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Theodore will now re-join the Knights at training camp and is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.
The new contract carries a $5.2MM AAV, higher than Theodore’s reported comparable contracts of Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse. However, those two players each signed two-year bridge deals, whereas Theodore was able to land long-term security, as well as eat into unrestricted free agency years, with five extra years at a salary of close to $2MM more. The cap hit for a long-term deal is also commensurate with Theodore’s experience relative to those two, comparable to recent deals signed by the likes of Toronto’s Nikita Zaitsev, Florida’s Michael Matheson, and the Rangers’ Brady Skjei. It turns out that term was actually the bigger factor in negotiations than salary, according to GM George McPhee, speaking to the media following the Knights’ preseason game last night. “I don’t know that we were ever really far apart; it was more what’s the right term. They were more interested in going shorter, we were more interested going longer,” McPhee said, adding that “When it was all laid out and explained” to Theodore, there was finally a resolution. McPhee stressed the importance of cost certainty when negotiation a long-term deal with a player they see as a major core piece moving forward, balancing cap space with commitment, and stating that he is “confident” with the long-term core they have put together.
Not long ago it seemed there was no resolution in sight between Theodore and the Golden Knights, only for a surprise long-term deal to be announced overnight. Could another contract negotiation break the same way? With Theodore signed, only the Maple Leafs’ William Nylander and the Ducks’ Nick Ritchie remain unsigned and the news out of both cities has been equally pessimistic. Yet, if Theodore can agree to deal with just some small tweaks and some inside information from management, others can too. With the regular season set to open next week, the clock is ticking for these two remaining RFA’s to make a deal.