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Slater Koekkoek

COVID Notes: Halak, Sabres, Connolly, Sheary, Oilers, Stutzle, Sillinger

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The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been placed into COVID protocol.  The veteran was set to get the start for today’s game against Carolina but instead, that will go to Thatcher Demko with Spencer Martin coming up from the taxi squad.  Halak has made just eight appearances this season and has a $1.25MM bonus pending when he gets to his tenth.  He’ll now have to wait a little longer to get that bonus, one that has recently landed himself in trade speculation as well.

More COVID news from around the NHL:

  • Sabres winger Tage Thompson and center Peyton Krebs have both cleared COVID protocol, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Thompson will suit up tonight in Detroit while they will take it a little slower with Krebs and re-assess his status on Sunday.
  • Blackhawks winger Brett Connolly has entered COVID protocol, relays John Dietz of the Daily Herald (Twitter link). The veteran has only played in four games with Chicago this season and has spent most of the year in the minors.  Defenseman Ian Mitchell was recalled from AHL Rockford just a day after being sent down.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger Conor Sheary has been placed in COVID protocol. The 29-year-old has impressed in his second season in Washington, notching ten goals and nine assists in 31 games, good for third on the team in goals.
  • The Oilers have taken wingers Warren Foegele and Tyler Benson plus defenseman Slater Koekkoek out of COVID protocol, mentions Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels (Twitter link). With those activations, Edmonton – who last played on January 5th – will be able to dress 18 skaters against Ottawa tonight.
  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they have removed winger Tim Stutzle from COVID protocol. The just-turned 20-year-old has had a bit of a quieter sophomore season than expected, collecting five goals and ten assists in 29 games.
  • The Blue Jackets have placed center Cole Sillinger in COVID protocol, per a team release.  The rookie has held down a regular spot in the lineup with Columbus this season, notching 13 points in 35 games.  Liam Foudy has been recalled from the taxi squad to take Sillinger’s place on the roster.

Oilers Place Five Players In COVID Protocol

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Edmonton will be without several players for their next game on Monday against Ottawa as the team announced that wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Brendan Perlini, defensemen Evan Bouchard and Slater Koekkoek, as well as taxi squad goaltender Ilya Konovalov have all entered COVID protocol.  In addition, six members of their support staff have also been placed into protocol.

Yamamoto and Bouchard are the most notable among the new absences.  Yamamoto has been starting to produce more in recent games, collecting six points in his last six games and has been a fixture in Edmonton’s top six for most of the season.  As for Bouchard, his first full NHL season has been a good one as he has notched 19 points in 34 games to lead all Edmonton blueliners in scoring, just ahead of veterans Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse.

Assuming the placements are for confirmed positive tests, each player will miss at least the next five days.  They join centers Connor McDavid and Derek Ryan, as well as Barrie, as those that are currently unavailable to COVID protocol.

They won’t be getting any help on the injury front either as Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is at least a week away from resuming on-ice activities due to his lower-body injury. He was placed on IR earlier this week with no definitive timetable for a return.  Meanwhile, Nugent-Bowman adds that defenseman Kris Russell is still another week away from returning from his upper-body injury.  The veteran has missed nearly a month so far.

Darnell Nurse Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Edmonton Oilers have made official what Jason Gregor of TSN reported earlier today, Darnell Nurse is headed to injured reserve. Head coach Dave Tippett explained that Nurse suffered a “cracked finger” in overtime and will be out 2-3 weeks. The team has also moved Slater Koekkoek to injured reserve, who will be out 3-4 weeks. To replace them, Philip Broberg and William Lagesson have been recalled from the AHL. In a cap move, Mike Smith is now on long-term injured reserve, getting more tests done and is still week-to-week.

While Koekkoek’s exit from last night’s game was obvious, as he played just over three minutes, Nurse logged more than 31 in the win against the Winnipeg Jets. The team’s obvious No. 1, that’s already the sixth time this season that Nurse has recorded at least 27 minutes of ice time. An all-situations horse for the team, he had 11 points in his first 16 games and was showing that last season’s breakout was not a flash in the pan.

The Oilers rewarded Nurse with a huge eight-year, $74MM contract extension after his outstanding 2020-21 season, which saw him finish seventh in Norris Trophy voting after scoring 16 goals and 36 points in 56 games. Losing him now, right as the team appears to be taking the next step, is an absolute crushing blow to the group. Edmonton has won seven of their last ten games and sit alone in first place in the Pacific Division with a 12-4 record overall.

Now, not only will the team have to find someone to take those minutes, but it can’t even be Koekkoek moving up. Instead, it looks like Broberg, one of the team’s top prospects, may get his first chance at the NHL level. Drafted eighth overall in 2019, the 20-year-old defenseman can skate like the wind and has the size to compete at the NHL level, but some have critiqued his decision-making in the past. Those decisions will be even more important as he moves to the NHL after just 13 games in the minor leagues. Broberg had 10 points in those games with Bakersfield, after spending the last two seasons in the SHL.

After tomorrow night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers are set to hit the road for three matches next week. They aren’t in a particularly heavy part of the schedule though, with a three-day break after that road trip ends next Saturday, meaning they at least will be able to ease Broberg into the lineup with sufficient practice days. Still, it seems very unlikely that he or any other player on the roster will be able to have the impact that Nurse does, meaning they’ll have to find another way to lock down the defensive side of the puck over the next few weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pacific Notes: Canucks, Koekkoek, Edler

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While many teams have dealt with most of their restricted free agents already, that can’t be said for Vancouver who still has center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes among their unsigned youngsters.  Speaking with Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston, Pat Brisson – who represents both players – noted that there’s no holdup in talks between him and the Canucks.  Part of the delay is that both short-term and long-term deals are being pondered for both players although it’s unlikely they will be able to afford to give each of them a contract that would buy out some UFA eligibility.  It wouldn’t be surprising if talks pick up once they get a deal done with RFA center Jason Dickinson whose arbitration hearing is set for Friday.  Once that’s in place, they’ll have a better idea of how much they’ll be able to spend on their two young stars.

More from the Pacific:

  • David Staples of the Edmonton Journal examined the recent two-year deal that the Oilers handed to defenseman Slater Koekkoek. While his numbers were underwhelming last season – one goal in 18 games while averaging just 13:10 per contest – he was better than several Edmonton blueliners in terms of frequency of allowing scoring chances.  Koekkoek’s numbers usually wouldn’t be good enough to yield a multi-year contract so there’s a good chance that the team was intrigued by that particular stat as well.
  • Defenseman Alex Edler told Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider that part of the reason that he signed with the Kings was how much interest they showed in him early along with the fit he’d have with the team. He added that he did field interest from other teams which likely helped push his price tag up to $3.5MM for next season, a somewhat high price tag for a player who had just eight assists in 52 games while logging his lowest ice time since 2007-08.  The 35-year-old should have a prominent role with Los Angeles next season and could be used in a shutdown capacity similar to the role he had at times in Vancouver.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Slater Koekkoek

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The Edmonton Oilers will be bringing back a familiar face. The team has signed Slater Koekkoek to a two-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $925K. Koekkoek was an unrestricted free agent, but spent this past season with the Oilers. PuckPedia reports that the deal is worth $750K in 2021-22 and $1.1MM in 2022-23.

Koekkoek, 27, registered a single point in 18 games for the Oilers, but still was in the lineup when the team took on the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs (and were quickly swept). If things go according to plan he won’t be there this time around, as the Oilers have revamped their defensive group, but the team still obviously values him enough to bring him back on an inexpensive deal.

Selected 10th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012, Koekkoek was supposed to bring a mix of size and offensive ability. Insead, by the time he got to the NHL that offense had completely dried up, limiting him to a depth role. In 85 games for the Lightning spread over parts of five years, he registered 14 points. He actually eclipsed that mark by one in just 64 contests with the Chicago Blackhawks, but there was still never really any sign of a top-four player.

Now, even hitting the open market at a relatively young age, Koekkoek has taken the security of a two-year deal with the Oilers. He’ll slide into the depth chart somewhere around seven or eight, depending on the development of some of the younger options in Edmonton’s pipeline, but there’s little doubt Koekkoek will be playing games for them at some point this year.

Mark Spector of Sportsnet broke the deal on Twitter

North Notes: Pettersson, DiPietro, Pinto, Koekkoek

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Earlier this week, the Canucks were hopeful that Elias Pettersson would be able to return to their lineup when they returned to the ice and it was only pending a sign off from a specialist to give him the green light.  That won’t be happening.  Instead, GM Jim Benning told reporters, including NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley, that the visit to the specialist has yielded a longer recovery timeline including the possibility that Pettersson doesn’t come back this season after all.  It has been a tough year for the 22-year-old who had a big slump early in the season and now could wind up missing more than half the year with this wrist injury.  He’s set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

More from the North Division:

  • Also from Woodley’s column, goaltender Michael DiPietro is expected to be on Vancouver’s roster when they play against Toronto on Sunday. While Benning wouldn’t identify which goalie isn’t ready to return, he suggested that DiPietro, who hasn’t played a game at any level in more than 13 months, could see some action which implies that whichever netminder out of Braden Holtby or Thatcher Demko doesn’t dress then could be out for a little while.  The 21-year-old has two career appearances with the Canucks, allowing eight goals on 31 shots.
  • Top Senators prospect Shane Pinto will make his NHL debut this afternoon against Montreal, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 20-year-old turned pro after a strong season with North Dakota where he posted 15 goals and 17 assists in 28 games, opting to forego his final two years of college eligibility.
  • Oilers defenseman Slater Koekkoek is still several weeks away from returning to the lineup, the team announced (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has been out for nearly two months with a broken collarbone but is expected to start skating with the team in the coming days.  Koekkoek is currently on LTIR but at the moment, they have enough space remaining to activate him when he’s ready.

Edmonton’s Slater Koekkoek Out Months With Broken Collarbone

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Feb 22: Koekkoek has been placed on long-term injured reserve. That means he must miss at least ten games and 24 days, though it is expected he will not play again this season.

Feb 21: The Edmonton Oilers focused on defensive depth and fortunately they did. The team has a number of defensemen currently out with injuries and the list got longer as Slater Koekkoek is expected to be out long-term as he has a broken collarbone, according to TSN’s Jason Gregor. While no official announcement has been made, it is believed the blueliner will be out for a minimum of two to three months, likely keeping him out of the lineup for the rest of the regular season, at least.

Koekkoek says he was injured on his first shift of the game Saturday against the Calgary Flames when he took a hit from Sam Bennett. While hardly a top-pairing defenseman, Koekkoek seemed to have found a home in Edmonton with some solid play on the team’s third pairing. He has appeared in 17 of the team’s 20 games this season, while averaging 12:55 of ATOI. He has one goal this season and 29 blocked shots.

The 27-year-old blueliner has bounced around the last few years after being drafted 10th overall in 2012 by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Koekkoek was never able to find a regular rotation spot with the Lightning and later was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Jan Rutta. He did play in a career-high 42 games with the Blackhawks last year with a goal and 10 points before signing with Edmonton during the offseason.

The team is already without Oskar Klefbom (shoulder, out for the season), Ethan Bear (head, out since Jan. 30), William Lagesson (upper-body, out past three games) and now Koekkoek isn’t helping with their depth issues. Not that he was expected to help, but in a separate tweet, Gregor notes that defensive prospect Dmitri Samorukov, who is on loan to the KHL this season, is also out for the season after suffering a shoulder injury in practice. The team has recalled defenseman Theodor Lennstrom, who has been playing with Bakersfield of the AHL and now has been moved to the team’s taxi squad.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Slater Koekkoek

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The Edmonton Oilers have added some depth to their back end as they announced the signing of defenseman Slater Koekkoek to a one-year deal worth $850K.

Koekkoek, 26, became an unrestricted free agent in October when the Chicago Blackhawks opted not to make him a qualifying offer. Many were surprised by the move, as Koekkoek enjoyed a career year in 2019-20 and to the tune of just $925K as well. While Koekkoek’s numbers, both offensively and defensively, aren’t stellar, he still earned a career-high 42 games and 16:45 in average time on ice.

The tenth overall pick of the 2012 NHL Draft, Koekkoek certainly hasn’t lived up to expectations. However, he is still a serviceable two-way defenseman who plays with size and has good possession numbers. The Oilers also won’t be asking him to play too big of a role. Even with the season-long absence of Oscar Klefbom, Edmonton still has a veteran top four of Darnell Nurse, Adam Larsson, Kris Russell, and big free agent addition Tyson Barrie, as well as promising prospects Caleb Jones and William Lagesson, not to mention unsigned RFA Ethan Bear likely to be back in the fold. Koekkoek figures to serve as an extra defender for the Oilers or potentially even a member of the newfound taxi squad, but could still prove to be a value at such a minimal salary.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Koekkoek was signing in Edmonton while Oilers radio analyst Bob Stauffer first reported the $850K cost.

Central Notes: Khudobin, Makar, Koekkoek

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Dallas Stars backup goaltender Anton Khudobin has been a huge pickup when the team signed the veteran to a two-year, $5MM contract back in 2018. However, with that contract wrapping up, Khodobin has made it clear, he’d like to remain with the Stars. However, the Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks writes that may not be as easy as it sounds.

To begin, his NHL leading .930 save percentage (albeit in 30 games) would likely prompt a raise from the $2.5MM per season he’s making now. The best comparison would be his former home where backup Jaroslav Halak just got a $2.25MM one-year deal with a $1.25MM bonus if he plays 10 games in 2020-21. However, Khudobin is 34 years old and isn’t eligible to performance bonuses on his next contract, making it more challenging considering the team’s cap issues.

Another problem is that Khudobin would likely get more than a one-year deal on the open market and with top goaltending prospect Jake Oettinger close to being ready to being a backup to Ben Bishop (likely in 2021-22), the team may not want to stand in the youngster’s way, meaning the team may not want to bring Khudobin back on anything more than a one-year pact.

  • The Colorado Avalanche were without Calder Trophy nominee Cale Makar for Sunday’s scrimmage after the blueliner left practice early on Saturday, according to NHL.com’s Rick Sadowski. No word on why Makar left practice. Coach Jared Bednar didn’t talk to the media, but teams aren’t allowed to comment on NHL injuries anyway. Makar left before special teams skills as Samuel Girard replaced Makar on the first power-play unit. The 21-year-old scored 12 goals and 50 points in just 57 games.
  • NHL.com’s Brandon Cain reports that there has been little to no progress on a potential new contract for Chicago Blackhawks restricted free agent Slater Koekkoek. In fact, the defenseman said he wasn’t even sure if his agent has even had a conversation with general manager Stan Bowman. “I’m not sure if my agent and Stan [Bowman] have had conversations yet. I would obviously love to re-sign here in Chicago.” Koekkoek came over from Tampa Bay back in 2019 where he was having trouble breaking into the Lightning’s lineup. The 26-year-old played in a career-high 42 games with a goal and 10 points last season and could be a useful six or seventh defenseman on the Blackhawks’ roster.

Blackhawks’ Brent Seabrook Will Try To Play In Qualifying Round, Postseason

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No one thought much about it when veteran Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was declared out for the season in late December. The Blackhawks were not looking like a playoff team at the time and the aged and battered Seabrook was not going to be the difference between a postseason spot or not. Seabrook proceeded to have three separate surgeries – his right shoulder and each hip – and was expected to be ready to begin the 2020-21 season.

However, the extended pause in the league season due to COVID-19 has changed everything for the Blackhawks and Seabrook. Chicago was the final team in the Western Conference to qualify for the league’s expanded postseason and will have a chance to win a playoff spot in a “knockout round” match-up with the Edmonton Oilers later this summer. Meanwhile, Seabrook has had ample down time to rehab his injuries and has now resumed skating, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. Powers rights that the next step would be for Seabrook to be cleared for contact, after which he could potentially join the Blackhawks for training camp, set to begin later this month.

Of course, actually being selected as one of the defensemen to play for Chicago in the qualifying round and beyond is a whole other issue entirely for the 35-year-old Seabrook. The veteran has not looked like himself for several years now and his four points in 32 games and career-low ice time this season implies that cracking the starting lineup may be an uphill battle even if Seabrook is completely healthy. With Calvin de Haan, similarly ruled out for the season but recently cleared to return, joining top-six regulars Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Adam Boqvist, Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek, Chicago’s starting defense may already be set. This also doesn’t include AHL depth options and the possibility that top defense prospect Ian Mitchell could also be in the mix.

Nevertheless, Seabrook will still work toward being cleared for action and could play an important locker room role and serve as valued depth at the very least for Chicago. The team will need all the help they can get to upset Edmonton and a tuned-up and refreshed Seabrook is just as likely as anyone to be that potential surprise x-factor in the qualifying round series, made even more surprising by the previous expectation that his season was over.

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