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Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Bruins, Battle Of Florida

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To the dismay of Red Wings fans, the Original Six team set another franchise record this season by missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a ninth consecutive season. Max Bultman of The Athletic summarized the Detroit Red Wings’ offseason plans, identifying players they are likely to part ways with this summer.

In his list of ’possible farewells’, Bultman theorizes that Detroit will let Jeff Petry, Craig Smith, Tyler Motte, and Alex Lyon walk in free agency. Totalling a combined cap hit of more than $5MM, all four of the quartet could be easily replaced internally this offseason, allowing the Red Wings to pursue a higher-impact player.

Lastly, Bultman articulated that defenseman William Lagesson was the only surefire departure this summer. Lagesson largely operated as a depth defenseman this season, tallying one assist in seven games while averaging 14:34 of ice time, when not playing for their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • In an insightful article regarding the Boston Bruins’ head coaching search, Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period exposed a meaningful fact: the hiring General Manager may not be around for more than a year. Don Sweeney’s contract concludes after the 2025-26 season, and although he’s received an endorsement from team President Cam Neely, plenty can change in a calendar year. For any heading coaching candidate considering joining the Bruins, job security will be something to weigh.
  • Over the last several years, the ’Battle of Florida’ between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers has been a must-see matchup since either team has represented the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final since the 2020 postseason. In the past two years, the Panthers have bested the Bolts, beating them in back-to-back opening-round matchups. In a quote from Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper conceded the battle, saying, “It was our turn. Now it’s theirs.”

Atlantic Notes: Lyon, Motte, Cernak, Ekblad

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The Detroit Red Wings should get one player back this weekend while losing another for the foreseeable future. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported earlier that goaltender Alex Lyon will likely start tomorrow’s contest against the Dallas Stars. She later reported that forward Tyler Motte has been ruled out until next Thursday due to an upper-body injury.

Lyon, who’s had multiple injuries this season, hasn’t played since Detroit’s overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’s still managed a similarly solid season as last year with the Red Wings when healthy managing an 8-5-0 record in 14 starts with a .902 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average.

Similarly sidelined with an upper-body injury, Motte is now guaranteed to fall short of tying his 69 games played from a season ago. He’s been much of what Detroit should have expected of him this year, scoring two goals and two assists in 28 games, managing a -10 rating, and being a core part of one of the worst penalty kills in NHL history.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their best defensive defensemen tonight. Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports that Erik Černák was made unavailable for tonight’s contest against the Red Wings but added the prognosis is better than expected so he shouldn’t be on the shelf for too long. Maxwell Crozier will replace Cernak tonight, joining Ryan McDonagh on the second defensive pairing. Crozier will play in his first game with Tampa Bay this season after tallying two assists in 13 contests last year.
  • A few hours southeast in Sunrise, FL, the Florida Panthers announced Aaron Ekblad would miss his fifth straight game this evening. However, it appears his return is on the horizon with head coach Paul Maurice saying, “I think we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play on the road trip.“

Atlantic Injury Notes: Lyon, Motte, Tavares, Samuelsson

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The Red Wings are close to having netminder Alex Lyon back in the lineup, as head coach Todd McLellan told reporters Wednesday (including Daniella Bruce of the team’s official site) he’ll travel on their upcoming four-game road trip. They don’t have a specific date circled for his return, so he likely remains unavailable tonight against the Panthers, his former team. This is the third injury-related absence of the season for Lyon, who missed a combined 12 games with a lower-body injury before New Year’s and has now missed the last three games with an upper-body injury he sustained on Jan. 7 against the Senators. Lyon has a .902 SV% and 2.71 GAA in 16 appearances, translating to 1.4 goals saved above expected (per MoneyPuck). Struggling veteran Ville Husso will continue serving as Cam Talbot’s backup.

All-positions forward Tyler Motte is also dealing with an upper-body injury he sustained on Tuesday against the Sharks and won’t join the team to begin the road trip, McLellan said (via Carley Johnston of the team’s official site). The coach added that he hadn’t been ruled out for all four games and could fly out to meet the team later. After struggling with nine points in 69 games last year for the Lightning, Motte went pointless in his first four games of the year before missing significant time with a previous UBI. Upon returning, Motte was a frequent healthy scratch but has worked his way up into a more stable spot in the lineup, dressing in eight straight. His return to the lineup after a pair of scratches coincided with the beginning of the Wings’ seven-game winning streak that ended Tuesday, during which span he had a pair of assists and a minus-four rating.

More health news from around the Atlantic Division:

  • The Maple Leafs may be without center John Tavares for tonight’s game after the star sustained an apparent right leg injury during yesterday’s practice. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters, including David Alter of The Hockey News, that he didn’t see the play happen and that the former captain was still being evaluated. Tavares hasn’t been held out of action since a one-game absence due to illness in the third game of the campaign. The 34-year-old pivot has enjoyed a rebound from last year’s dip in production, clicking around a point per game once again with 42 in 44 contests.
  • Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson returned to the lineup in last night’s win over the Hurricanes after missing a pair of games due to illness. The still-developing shutdown man logged nearly 20 minutes. He posted a plus-one rating in the team’s narrow 4-2 victory, in which they managed to record a goal on no shots in the third period after Ryan McLeod was awarded an empty-netter on what otherwise would have been a penalty shot thanks to a Brent Burns slash. Samuelsson was again hamstrung by injuries in 2024-25, missing 12 games with a lower-body issue earlier in the year. When in the lineup, he has five points and a minus-seven rating while averaging 18:25 per game, his lowest usage since his rookie season.

Atlantic Notes: Ostapchuk, Zub, Laine, Slafkovský, Motte, Benson

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The Senators papered Zack Ostapchuk back up to the active roster today after sending him down to AHL Belleville yesterday, per a team announcement.

Ottawa has now recalled the young center on three separate occasions this season. After initially cutting him from their roster on the final day of training camp, he’s been recalled thrice in the past week to serve as an injury fill-in while David Perron and Shane Pinto are out of the lineup.

Ostapchuk has served as the Sens’ third-line center between Noah Gregor and Michael Amadio and will do so again against the Sabres tomorrow, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. The 21-year-old went without a point in seven appearances last season but has managed to get on the scoresheet in 2024-25, recording his first career assist and a +1 rating while averaging 11:55 through three games.

While Ottawa will remain without Perron and Pinto for a while yet, they’re getting healthier on the back end. Defenseman Artem Zub will make his return from a concussion “sooner than later,” Garrioch said today. He’s been practicing with the team for the better part of the past week but will likely miss his ninth straight game Tuesday in Buffalo. He sustained the concussion in the Sens’ third game of the season against the Kings on a hit from L.A. winger Tanner Jeannot.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Canadiens winger Patrik Laine hasn’t yet debuted for the team after sustaining a knee injury in preseason, but his return timeline predicates he’ll hit the ice and return to regular-season action sometime next month. He’s still done enough throughout his career to put himself in consideration for a spot on Finland’s roster for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, general manager Jere Lehtinen told Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com. There’s a solid chance he won’t get to see game action before rosters for the tournament are due in early December, but leaving him off the roster would leave the already-underdog Finns without a dynamic offensive talent. Health has been a significant hurdle for Laine over the past few years, but his 0.91 points per game since the beginning of the 2021-22 season rank fourth among Finnish NHLers behind Mikko Rantanen, Aleksander Barkov and Sebastian Aho.
  • Still with the Habs, winger Juraj Slafkovský practiced today after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Penguins late after a high hit from Pittsburgh forward Noel Acciari, relays Patrick Friolet of RDS. Slafkovský confirmed to reporters that he didn’t suffer a concussion on the play and will remain in the lineup against the Flames tomorrow, albeit in a slightly reduced second-line role alongside Jake Evans and Alex Newhook, while Kirby Dach takes his spot on the top-line alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Slafkovský, 20, already missed three games earlier this season with a shoulder injury. When in the lineup, he has a goal and seven assists in nine appearances.
  • The Red Wings will have forward Tyler Motte available on Wednesday against the Blackhawks after he missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters today, including Ansar Khan of MLive.com. However, he may still be out of the lineup as a healthy scratch after Detroit escaped their division-rival Sabres with a 2-1 win over the weekend. Signed to a one-year, $800K deal on the second day of free agency, Motte did not have a point with a -2 rating in four appearances with Detroit before exiting the lineup.
  • The Sabres may activate winger Zach Benson from injured reserve before tomorrow’s contest against the Sens, head coach Lindy Ruff told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. The 19-year-old has sat out the last five games with a lower-body injury he sustained in their Global Series games against the Devils that never wholly resolved. It showed in his performance, as he was held off the scoresheet and logged a -4 rating in six appearances when in the lineup for Buffalo last month.

Atlantic Notes: Cozens, Zub, Motte

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The Buffalo Sabres are switching things up at the top of their forward core to give a struggling player an offensive jolt. The player in question is 23-year-old center Dylan Cozens who’s only mustered three assists in 10 games to start the 2024-25 campaign.

Head coach Lindy Ruff is moving Cozens to the right wing for the next few contests next to Jordan Greenway and Ryan McLeod which also suggests Cozens is moving to the team’s third line. Bill Hoppe from Buffalo Hockey Beat got a quote from Ruff regarding the move saying, “Sometimes a player just gets so consumed with lack of production and then maybe gets locked into as your centerman trying to play better defensively. Trying to free him up to get him a few more opportunities. You get him with a left-handed centermen that can him the puck and possibly use his speed“.

Many underlying statistics indicate that Cozens’s lack of production is merely a consequence of bad luck. His possession numbers are depressed especially when factoring in he starts a shift in the offensive zone 59.1% of the time but his E +/- of 0.0 according to Hockey Reference shows that he’s one of the better two-way forwards on the roster.

Cozens is leading the team in shots with 32 and has maintained his physicality with 19 hits on the year. The Sabres and Ruff hope that with less pressure in the faceoff dot and with positioning the offense will start to come for Cozens before it’s too late.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • In a positive injury update for the Ottawa Senators, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports defenseman Artem Zub has resumed skating for the first time since suffering a concussion on October 14th. Garrioch notes that Zub won’t be a full participant with the team until he’s fully medically cleared but it’s a positive step in the right direction. The right side of Ottawa’s defensive core has looked weak without Zub in the top four as the team sits 24th in the league in GA/G at 3.44.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports that Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Motte is close to returning. Motte has missed Detroit’s last six games with an upper-body injury suffered during the team’s loss to the New York Rangers on October 17th. When healthy, he’s been largely unnoticeable in Detroit’s forward core with zero points through four games averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time per contest.

East Notes: Rust, Dahlin, Romanov, Motte

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The Pittsburgh Penguins organization didn’t get a positive update on forward Bryan Rust’s injury. The team’s play-by-play commentator, Jeff Getzoff, shared that Rust is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury after evaluations.

Rust suffered the lower-body injury in the team’s most recent game against the Vancouver Canucks after receiving a hit from Nils Hoglander. The veteran forward was quickly ruled out of that game’s action after only 13:18 of ice time and missed the team’s practice yesterday.

The injury could be related to the lower-body injury that kept Rust from the ice at the beginning of the season. He missed Pittsburgh’s first two games of the regular season but has managed three goals and four points in eight straight games. The Penguins only have 12 healthy forwards on the roster meaning Valtteri Puustinen should garner more ice time if the organization doesn’t make a recall from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Buffalo Sabres’ captain Rasmus Dahlin’s two-minute minor for high-sticking and two-minute minor for roughing in last night’s action has turned into more. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced they have fined Dahlin $5,000 for yesterday’s incident, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The play took place with seven minutes remaining of the third period when Dahlin swung his stick into the face of Florida Panthers’ forward Anton Lundell after positioning for the puck at the Sabres’ blue line.
  • The New York Islanders will be without defenseman Alexander Romanov for the second straight game. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports Romanov is still considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury from one of the team’s recent games against the New Jersey Devils. There hasn’t been any indication up to this point that Romanov will be able to dress in tomorrow night’s action against the Columbus Blue Jackets, either.
  • Ansar Khan of MLive reports the Detroit Red Wings are still without forward Tyler Motte who is suffering from an upper-body injury. His unavailability will have a downstream effect on the roster with the organization keeping the ability to keep prospect Marco Kasper on the roster under emergency conditions for the time being. Kasper has skated in five games for the Red Wings during his emergency recall with one assist to show for it while averaging 15:22 of ice time. Once Motte can return, Detroit must make a roster move to comply with the emergency condition protocols.

Atlantic Notes: Liljegren, Compher, Motte, Pacioretty, Vinik

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It’s no surprise that defenseman Timothy Liljegren’s time with the Toronto Maple Leafs may be coming to an end. The former 17th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft has only suited up in one game for the Maple Leafs up to this point in the regular season and it doesn’t appear that the organization is willing to expand much upon that total.

As an obvious trade candidate, Harman Dayal and James Mirtle of The Athletic (Subscription Required) offered three potential suitors for Liljegren’s services. The pair lists the Utah Hockey Club, San Jose Sharks, and Los Angeles Kings as three teams needing a right-handed shot puck-moving blue liner.

All three make sense for several reasons. Utah is out Sean Durzi and John Marino for much of the 2024-25 regular season due to surgery and could use a short-term stopgap for their top four. The Kings are facing a similar dilemma with the departure of Matt Roy over the offseason and a long-term preseason injury to All-Star Drew Doughty. The Sharks don’t strike as desperate as the other two options but carry three right-shot defensemen past their primes.

Liljegren’s departure from Toronto seems less about “if” and more about “when” at this stage of the game. He’s shown flashes of top-four capabilities throughout his time in Toronto but hasn’t been trusted by multiple coaches to play in important situations.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Ansar Khan of MLive provided a few updates on a pair of forwards from the Detroit Red Wings. J.T. Compher, who missed yesterday’s game against the New Jersey Devils with an illness, is designated as a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s contest against the Buffalo Sabres. Khan shares that forward Tyler Motte is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury but did participate in practice earlier today. Motte suffered the injury after receiving a solid body check from New York Rangers’ rookie defenseman, Vittorio Mancini, on October 17th.
  • Back to Toronto — veteran forward Max Pacioretty missed the team’s game last night due to a lower-body injury. He’s not expected to be out much longer with TSN’s Mark Masters reporting Pacioretty was a full participant in the team’s practice earlier today. Pacioretty already has two goals through his first five games as a Maple Leaf but the team will likely slowplay his recovery due to his multiple Achilles tears a few years ago.
  • In one of the best feel-good stories in recent memories, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik is leaving the organization with quite the parting gift. Alex Silverman of the Sports Business Journal reports Vinik is paying nearly $20MM in bonuses to the 300+ employees for the Lightning organization. It will amount to approximately $50K-$66K for each full-time employee and is reminiscent of former owner Mark Cuban’s bonus payouts to the staff of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Canadiens, Woll

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The Detroit Red Wings recalled the eighth-overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, Marco Kasper, earlier today under emergency conditions. We now know the context under which that move was made. Max Bultman of The Athletic shares that forward Tyler Motte is being evaluated for an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s recent game against the New York Rangers.

Motte played most of Thursday’s game against the Rangers securing 9:33 of ice time but did receive quite the shot from rookie defenseman Vittorio Mancini in the first period. It became clear that Motte was unappreciative of the hit as he attempted to draw Mancini into a fight on his next shift.

With the team hopeful Kasper can give them an offensive jolt up front, the team will also gain reinforcements on the back end. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports defenseman Jeff Petry is medically cleared to play in the team’s next contest tomorrow afternoon. Petry has only factored into Detroit’s opening night loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins so far as he’s been recovering from an upper-body injury.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The Montreal Canadiens will be somewhat bruised and battered in their upcoming game against the New York Islanders tomorrow evening. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that defenseman Kaiden Guhle won’t travel with the team as he’s dealing with an upper-body injury but fortunately, defenseman Mike Matheson will make the trip. Engels also shared that forward Juraj Slafkovsky would travel with the team to New York but he’s questionable to participate in tomorrow night’s action. Montreal will look to win their third contest of the season tomorrow night but may have to do so without some important pieces.
  • Goaltender Joseph Woll’s return to game action for the Toronto Maple Leafs is on the horizon as Nick Barden of The Hockey News reported the young netminder was a full participant at the team’s practice this morning. Woll has been on the team’s injured reserve with an upper-body injury since the regular season kicked off on October 9th. Toronto has gotten adequate goaltending in his absence between Anthony Stolarz and Dennis Hildeby combining for a .935 save percentage in four games with 4.2 goals saved above average according to Hockey Reference.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Tyler Motte

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The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Tyler Motte to a one-year deal worth $800K. The 29-year-old spent last year with the Tampa Bay Lightning, tallying six goals and three assists in 69 regular season games and a single goal in five playoff games.

The journeyman will join his seventh NHL organization and continues to find work in the league despite being a light scorer and undersized. A fourth-round pick in 2013, Motte has just 49 career goals and 41 assists in 400 NHL games.  His best offensive season came in 2022-23 when he split time between the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers, Motte finished the year with eight goals and 11 assists in 62 games.

Signing with Detroit marks a homecoming for Motte as he is from St. Clair, Michigan and he played his college hockey with the University of Michigan. Motte spent three years in the NCAA with Michigan and had an offensive breakthrough during the 2015-16 season, posting 32 goals and 24 assists in 38 NCAA games.

Motte’s one-year deal marks his third straight trip through unrestricted free agency that has resulted in a one-year deal as last summer he signed a matching one-year $800K with Tampa Bay, while in September of 2022, he signed a one-year $1.35MM with the Ottawa Senators. Motte will be a free agent once again next summer.

Injury Updates: Lightning, Barron, Sandin, Jensen

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Several injured Tampa Bay players appear to be nearing a return to the lineup.  Team reporter Chris Krenn notes (Twitter links) that forwards Tyler Motte and Luke Glendening along with defenseman Haydn Fleury all took part in a full practice today in advance on Sunday’s series opener against Florida.  Motte missed the final week of the season with a lower-body injury, Glendening was scratched for their regular season finale with an undisclosed injury, while Fleury has been out the last two weeks with an upper-body issue.  All three players play depth roles for the Lightning, the forwards on their fourth line and Fleury as a seventh defenseman; all should see action in the opening round at some point.

Meanwhile, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times adds (Twitter link) that blueliner Mikhail Sergachev also skated in a regular (full contact) jersey.  He has already been ruled out for the start of the playoffs since undergoing leg surgery back in February but this is certainly a key step toward potentially returning later in the opening round.  Sergachev logged over 22 minutes a night for the Lightning this season and his potential return down the road would undoubtedly give their back end a significant boost.

Other injury news heading into the opening games of the playoffs:

  • Jets center Morgan Barron won’t be available for their series opener against Colorado tomorrow, relays Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The 25-year-old left Tuesday’s win over Seattle in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.  Barron was a quality fourth liner for Winnipeg this season, chipping in with ten goals despite logging just 10:30 per night.  One of David Gustafsson and Cole Perfetti will likely take Barron’s spot in the lineup.
  • Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin practiced today in a non-contact jersey, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury and with the non-contact designation, it seems unlikely he’ll be able to suit up in the series opener against the Rangers on Sunday.  Sandin was an important part of Washington’s back end this season, logging over 21 minutes a night while collecting 23 points in 68 games.
  • Sandin wasn’t the only injured Washington blueliner who took to the ice today as Gulitti adds (Twitter link) that Nick Jensen also practiced in a non-contact jersey. Jensen suffered an upper-body injury last week against Tampa Bay and was stretchered off the ice.  The 33-year-old spent a lot of time on the Capitals’ second pairing this season, picking up 13 points while averaging a little under 20 minutes a night.  Like Sandin, the non-contact designation likely means he won’t be available on Sunday either.

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