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Winnipeg Jets Recall Michael Hutchinson From AHL

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After Steve Mason suffered an injury at morning skate, the Winnipeg Jets have recalled Michael Hutchinson. In a corresponding move the team has sent Jamie Phillips back to the Manitoba Moose to help with their first-round AHL playoff series. Phillips had been serving as the Jets’ emergency third goaltender, but with Game 5 set for Winnipeg there was enough time to get Hutchinson.

While he’s not expected to start over Connor Hellebuyck, Hutchinson is a wonderful piece to have at the ready for this type of situation. Some may argue that he is even an upgrade over Mason should he be forced into the net, after posting an outstanding season in the AHL. Though Mason stopped all seven shots he faced in relief of Hellebuyck earlier in the series, he had a very inconsistent season filled with injury. His .906 save percentage in just twelve appearances marks his worst season since 2011-12.

Hutchinson is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, meaning he’d likely jump at any opportunity to prove himself in the playoffs for the Jets. The 28-year old goaltender put up a .935 save percentage in the minors this year, and could be an option for a team looking to improve their backup situation next year.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Goaltender Eric Comrie

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Another goaltender is injured for the Winnipeg Jets, as Michael Hutchinson had to leave last night’s game with an upper-body injury. The team has recalled Eric Comrie under emergency conditions to fill the backup role for the time being, while Hutchinson and Steve Mason remain sidelined. No word yet on how long Hutchinson will be out.

There is also no update yet on the status of Paul Stastny, who didn’t play in the game after suffering some sort of injury in warm up. The Jets were unable to hold off the onslaught of the Nashville Predators, and now sit six points back in the race for the Western Conference top seed. Winnipeg has dealt with goaltender injuries all season, and will have to continue to rely on Connor Hellebuyck to get them through the end of the season and into the playoffs.

Comrie has played two NHL games in his short career, but boasts a solid .918 save percentage at the AHL level this year. The 22-year old second-round pick has developed nicely for the organization over the last few years, and looks poised to take over as the club’s #3 option if Hutchinson goes somewhere else in free agency.

Steve Mason Out 2-3 Weeks With Knee Injury

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It’s been a season to forget for Winnipeg Jets goalie Steve Mason. Mason has suffered two concussions in 2017-18, one in November and one in January, missing a combined 28 games. Now he’s back on the shelf, after playing his first game since early January on Tuesday night, a shutout win against the New York Rangers. In the contest, Mason suffered a lower-body injury which, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, turned out to be a seriously tweaked knee.

In speaking with head coach Paul Maurice, Gulitti reports that Mason underwent surgery today and is expected to be out 2-3 weeks. Michael Hutchinson, who was recalled from the AHL on Thursday while Mason’s condition was still up in the air, will remain in Winnipeg to back up Connor Hellebuyck. 

Hellebuyck has not just helped to make up for the loss of Mason most of the year, but has thrived in his absence. Although Mason signed a two-year, $8.2MM with the Jets this past summer to presumably start in Winnipeg, that seems unlikely to ever happen given Hellebuyck’s emergence. The 24-year-old has blossomed into one of the top goalies in the league this season, posting a .923 save percentage and 2.38 GAA through 56 games already. Mason’s injury woes have certainly affected him – when healthy he has still struggled, posting a .906 save percentage and 3.18 GAA – but both his absence and poor performance have been non-factors for Winnipeg despite what many would have expected prior to the season.

Minor Transactions : 03/08/18

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Some minor transactions from around the league:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Michael Hutchinson, bringing up the goaltender once again as Steve Mason is dealing with a new injury. Mason suffered a lower-body injury at practice, but it’s not clear how long he’ll be out. Hutchinson will get a chance to backup Connor Hellebuyck once again.
  • Carolina has sent Lucas Wallmark back down to the minor leagues, where he’s done most of his damage this season. The 22-year old forward has one point in 11 games with the Hurricanes, but 36 in 32 games with the Charlotte Checkers.
  • Tomas Hyka is back up after a two day absence from the Vegas Golden Knights. While Reilly Smith deals with a minor injury and will miss tonight’s game, Hyka could get another chance to prove he belongs in the NHL. The 24-year old Czech forward has two points in six games with the Golden Knights this season
  • Josh Jooris has been recalled under emergency conditions by the Pittsburgh Penguins, as Bryan Rust and Dominik Simon deal with injuries. Jooris was acquired at the trade deadline for this type of situation, to give the Penguins some NHL experience that could step in in case of injury.

Injury Notes: Eichel, Jets’ Updates, Scandella, Schmidt, Neal

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Jack Eichel has taken his first step or skate in his road to recovery from the high ankle sprain that sidelined him on Feb. 10. Given a timetable of four to six weeks, Eichel skated Saturday for the first time, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Despite skating, head coach Phil Housley stated that he is not ready to return to practice yet and there is no timetable for a return.

“We don’t want to put him under that sort of pressure,” Housley said. “He has skated. He started skating yesterday so that’s good to see him start making progress.”

With the season hitting its final stretch, there is no guarantee that Eichel will return to the lineup at all, although Housley said that Eichel definitely wants to return before the end of the season. The 21-year-old was on pace to surpass his career highs in goals as he already had 22 goals in 55 games (24 goals is his career high). The team is 4-5-1 without Eichel these past 10 games.

  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Adam Lowry are both progressing, but aren’t expected to return during the Jets’ six-game road trip. Trouba has been missing since Jan. 25 with an ankle injury has been skating for more than a week, while Lowry has been out since Feb. 1 with a lower-body injury. However, forward Brandon Tanev is ready to return, but head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t want to change his forward lineup. Defenseman Toby Enstrom is expected back either Tuesday or Thursday. He’s missed two games with a lower-body injury.
  • Wiebe also adds that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Steve Mason is traveling to New York City to meet up with team for their upcoming game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. He got in a game of conditioning with the Manitoba Moose Saturday, allowing four goals on 22 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory. Mason has been out with a concussion and hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 9.
  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News tweets that defenseman Marco Scandella, who missed most of Friday’s game due to a big hit on the boards, is practicing with the team today.
  • SinBinVegas tweets that Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt and winger James Neal (hand) both did not fly with the team to New Jersey, which will start the team’s five-game road-trip. However, both are expected to eventually meet up with the team.

 

Injury Notes: Bortuzzo, Mason, Matthews

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The St. Louis Blues are getting some reinforcements on the blue line, as they have activated Robert Bortuzzo from the injured reserve. Bortuzzo has been sidelined for more than two weeks with a knee injury suffered against the Dallas Stars back in mid-February. The big defenseman had played in 55 games with the Blues up to that point and should jump back into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. According to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, that could even be tonight in a re-match with the Stars with crucial divisional points on the line. The Blues then take four days off ahead of a season-defining road trip against Western wild card contenders: San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Colorado. If St. Louis is still alive in the playoff race after these next five games, they could look forward to another addition on defense in the return of Joel Edmundson. In the meantime, Bortuzzo will be looked upon to step up in his return.

  • Another Central Division squad is getting deeper at a key position. After nearly two months of dealing with concussions symptoms, Steve Mason is on his way back to the Winnipeg net and just in time for the stretch run. The Jets announced today that they have assigned Mason to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, on a conditioning stint. The Moose in turn announced that Mason will get the start tonight against the Iowa Wild. With just 11 appearances and two head injuries to his name this season, Mason may need some time in the minors to get back in the swing of things and a week plus in the AHL would not be a surprise, but he will eventually make his return to Winnipeg. However, his role has changed dramatically over the course of this season. Signed to a two-year, $8.2MM starter-value contract this summer to presumably bridge the gap to Connor Hellebuyck, Mason instead has performed poorly and missed considerable time, while Hellebuyck has flourished. Mason will settle for a backup role down the stretch, supplanting Michael Hutchinson, and likely next year as well.
  • Auston Matthews isn’t quite ready to return to the Toronto lineup, but he is getting closer. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, in speaking with Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, says that Matthews has been skating regularly. Johnston adds that the fortunate part of an upper-body injury, in this case a separated shoulder, is that it doesn’t stop one from skating and keeping up with his conditioning. Matthews is known for his work ethic and has surely been skating hard while on the sidelines. Whenever the Leafs’ doctors give his shoulder the okay, he should be back at full force for Toronto. Sadly, that approval won’t be coming ahead of today’s outdoor game between the Leafs and Washington Capitals at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Matthews will miss his fourth straight game and fourteenth game due to injury in 2017-18.

Injury Notes: Granlund, Hendricks, Hutchinson, Elliott

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The Vancouver Canucks took another injury hit when they announced that forward Markus Granlund will be out for a month with an ankle injury, which he suffered Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He landed awkwardly on his ankle after being bumped on the boards by Ryan Callahan.

The 24-year-old Granlund was expected to be a big contributor this season after a breakout season last year when he scored 19 goals. However, that hasn’t been the case this year. He has eight goals so far this year in 53 games and has seen less average ice time as he’s seeing almost a minute less than last year.

As reported earlier, the Canucks recalled Nikolay Goldobin from the Utica Comets of the AHL.

  • The Winnipeg Jets announced they have activated veteran center Matt Hendricks off of injured reserve and placed goaltender Michael Hutchinson on injured reserve to make room for him. Hendricks, who was signed to a one-year deal this offseason, was out with an upper body injury and has missed the past two games. The team’s fourth-line center, Hendricks has put up a solid season with four goals and eight assists. Hutchinson was placed on IR, retroactive to Feb. 6. He was called up to replace backup Steve Mason, who went down with a concussion. However, Hutchinson himself suffered a concussion in a pre-game skate on that date. Eric Comrie is filling in as an emergency backup.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers might be without starting goaltender Brian Elliott again after he had to leave Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. He actually left the game after the overtime period against Arizona and was replaced by Michal Neuvirth for the shootout. The team only just got Elliott back on Monday from a lower-body injury. Carchidi suspects that the veteran pulled a groin muscle before going down. He will be re-evaluated after tonight’s game against Vegas. The team announced they have recalled Alex Lyons from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to serve as the backup.

Central Notes: Predators, Mason, Blues

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With the Predators having a very strong top-four on the back end plus four others on their active roster, GM David Poile acknowledged to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that he’s happy with their situation on the back end and that if they look to add between now and the February 26th trade deadline, it would be up front.  Last season, Nashville used 17 different forwards in the first two rounds of the playoffs due to injuries so it’s no surprise that Poile is a proponent of adding depth at that position.  They’ll eventually get some depth down the middle when Mike Fisher officially signs so their focus may be to add on the wings over the next two weeks.

More from the Central:

  • Jets goaltender Steve Mason took a small step forward in his recovery this week when he skated on his own in consecutive days for the first time since being diagnosed with his second concussion of the season, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe. Despite that, he is still likely at least several weeks away from returning to the lineup.  For the time being, Eric Comrie will remain the number two in Winnipeg with Michael Hutchinson also on the shelf with a concussion of his own.
  • In a reader chat, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that while there is pressure on the Blues to make the postseason, GM Doug Armstrong believes that the team is at the beginning of their contention window and thus may not be inclined to move a top prospect for short-term help. Armstrong has been on record saying that he would prefer to not acquire a rental player and would rather target someone that is signed beyond this season.  With the recent injury to Joel Edmundson, it wouldn’t be surprising if St. Louis looks to add some depth on the back end.

Central Injury Updates: Niederreiter, Sanford, Stars, Mason

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Minnesota is set to get a key player back in their lineup as winger Nino Niederreiter is expected to return tonight after missing the last eight games with an ankle injury, notes Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press.  The issue has been a lingering one for Niederreiter who sustained it early in the season and has been battling it since then.  Despite that, he has still been one of the more productive scorers for the Wild with 13 goals in 31 games this season; his goals-per-game average ranks tops on the team.  As the team didn’t place him on injured reserve, they don’t need to make a corresponding roster move to get him back on the active roster.

More injury notes from the Central:

  • Although Blues winger Zachary Sanford is with the team for their road trip, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the youngster is still a long way away from returning. Sanford stated that he’s unsure if he will be able to get back into the lineup at some point this month but it appears that he will be ready to play down the stretch.  The 23-year-old has yet to play this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in September and could make a push for a third line spot when he does return.
  • Although he did not suffer a concussion after being hit on the side of the face with the puck on Thursday, Stars goaltender Ben Bishop has been ruled out of Saturday’s contest against Minnesota, notes Mark Stepneski on the Stars’ team website. They are expected to recall a goalie to serve as the backup tomorrow.  Meanwhile, center Martin Hanzal (muscle pull) and defenseman Marc Methot (knee) skated with the team as they continue to work their way back from their respective injuries but head coach Ken Hitchcock does not have a timeframe for when the veterans may get the green light to play.
  • Jets goaltender Steve Mason skated on his own on Thursday for the first time since being diagnosed with his second concussion of the season, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe.  As a result, he is still a while away from returning which could very well take Michael Hutchinson out of the equation as a possible trade option as they may prefer to keep him around as insurance if Mason’s recovery goes slower than expected.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Michael Hutchinson To Start

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The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Michael Hutchinson to start tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, sending down Eric Comrie. Additionally, Adam Lowry has been activated from injured reserve while Jacob Trouba takes his place among the wounded.

Head coach Paul Maurice and the front office decided to give Connor Hellebuyck the night off after he participated in the All-Star festivities this past weekend, meaning Hutchinson will get his first opportunity of the season. That is very important for the 27-year old goaltender, as he is a pending unrestricted free agent and will take any opportunity to show that he belongs in the NHL.

Hutchinson is one of the more interesting cases over the next few weeks, as he’s been one of the best goaltenders in the minor leagues all season and has a history of relative success in the NHL. In 99 career games, he carries a .910 save percentage, though that is skewed by his extreme success early on in his career.

Still, he could be an option for a team looking to strengthen their goaltending depth before the deadline. If the Jets believe that Comrie and Steve Mason—currently dealing with the effects of his second concussion of the season—are enough depth behind Hellebuyck, they could sell Hutchinson to the highest bidder. Otherwise, he will be an interesting free agent case in the summer.

Hellebuyck is clearly the starter now in Winnipeg, after taking a huge step forward this season and establishing himself as one of the better goaltenders in the NHL. Mason though was just signed to a two-year, $8.2MM contract and is too expensive to bury in the minor leagues. When healthy, he’ll have a role on this team meaning there isn’t much room for Hutchinson. Instead, he could try to catch on somewhere else around the league as a backup, or even try to compete for a starting job on a rebuilding club.

A chance to prove himself against one of the top teams in the league doesn’t come every day, and you can bet many eyes around the NHL are tuning in to see what happens. Whether he’ll play another game as a Winnipeg Jet isn’t guaranteed, though he certainly has a good opportunity right now.

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