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Tyler Myers

Jacob Trouba To Have Disciplinary Hearing

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After a hit last night that knocked Ottawa Senators Mark Stone out of the game last night, Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba will have a hearing this afternoon with the NHL Department of Player Safety to determine if there will be any further disciplinary action.

Trouba hit Stone’s head on the check, which happened midway through the third period. Stone suffered a concussion at the beginning of the season, making this at least the second just this season should he fail the protocol today. Trouba does seem to extend his arm to hit the head.

The Jets can’t afford to lose Trouba for the next several games at least, as they have pulled themselves into the playoff race once again. Since Trouba’s lockout following a long contract negotiation this summer, he’s become perhaps the second most important defenseman on the Jets. Logging close to 25 minutes a night, Tyler Myers injury opened the door for Trouba to step into the starring role he had looked for.

Bob McKenzie on TSN1260 said that it would be “games for sure” for Trouba today. He doesn’t think Trouba picked out Stone’s head on purpose, but since there was almost no body-on-body contact, the book will be thrown at the Jets defenseman.

Tyler Myers Undergoes Surgery; Out At Least 6-8 Weeks

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Tyler Myers, who has already missed the last 39 games, will be out at least another 6 – 8 weeks after undergoing surgery yesterday, Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice revealed. The news was announced via the team’s official Twitter account.

At best, Myers will be back around the third week of March, giving him approximately 11 games to shake off the rust. At worst, there may only be a couple of games remaining on the schedule and if the Jets are out of postseason contention at that point, they may decide to pull the plug on a return altogether.

It’s been a disappointing campaign for the 6-foot-8 rearguard, who has appeared in just 11 games on the season for the Jets with two goals and five points. Myers was originally acquired by Winnipeg as part of a February 2015 trade with Buffalo that saw winger Evander Kane head to the Sabres. He registered nine goals and 27 points in 2015-16, his first full campaign as a member of the Jets. He won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2009-10 after a 48-point campaign as a 20-year-old with Buffalo.

The Jets still have talent on the blue line, with Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom and Jacob Trouba all capable, top-four defenseman. However, Myers’ absence has obviously impacted the team’s depth and the Jets could use some help on the third pair, which has struggled at times this season. The situation could prompt the Jets to look to the rental trade market to add a depth defender in the event the worst case scenario plays out and Myers misses the rest of the regular season.

Snapshots: Fisher, Myers, Milestones, Lightning

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When it comes to the pending Las Vegas expansion draft, many teams are likely to go with the 7-3-1 protection route (seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie) over protecting eight skaters plus a goaltender.  One of the exceptions is the Nashville Predators, who have four blueliners that are pretty much ‘must-protect’ in P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm.

That means that just four forwards could be protected and as ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes, it could play a role when it comes to pending unrestricted free agent center Mike Fisher.  It seems likely that there is mutual interest in him sticking around beyond this season given his ties to the market but if they opt to extend him now, that will then result in one more quality forward being exposed to the Golden Knights.  As things stand, it’s likely that all but one of forwards Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrok, Colin Smith, and Colin Wilson will have to be left unprotected as it is.

As a result, LeBrun wonders if the two sides will wait until the draft passes before getting a new contract done.  That way, the team can protect an extra forward while Fisher avoids the risk of being extended and then exposed (which would be a legitimate possibility given who they are already slated to leave unprotected).  It’s a strategy that is likely to be used by many teams as they look to limit the amount of talent they have to leave available for Vegas to pick from.

Other news and notes from around the league:

  • Jets defenseman Tyler Myers has taken a leave of absence from the team to attend to a family matter, notes Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press. There is no timetable for his return.  Myers has already been out of the lineup since November 11th due to a lower body injury but has started skating as he works towards a return to game action.
  • Tonight will mark a milestone for Colorado right winger Jarome Iginla. He will suit up in his 1,514th career game, tying him with Tampa GM and long-time Red Wings center Steve Yzerman for 15th overall in league history.  Meanwhile, fellow winger Blake Comeau will also reach a milestone as he’ll suit up in his 600th NHL contest.
  • Although Tampa Bay has struggled as of late, the team is not planning on making any changes to their coaching staff, reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. On the trade front, Yzerman told Smith that he’d like to add to their current core but acknowledged he may have to deal from it to address certain team needs.  While he didn’t specify what needs those might be, they’ve long been searching for an upgrade at defense and the team has several forwards that could be moved in order to secure some help on the back end.

Snapshots: Capitals-Penguins, Myers, Lightning, Oilers

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Capitals fans will likely see a major milestone when Washington hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Captain Alex Ovechkin needs one point to hit 1,000 for his career. His fellow captain, Sidney Crosby, is sitting at 982, though in 139 less games. Ovechkin will become the 84th player in NHL history to hit the 1,000-point mark, and the second-fastest active player to do so behind only former Penguin and Capital Jaromir Jagr.

Ovechkin has 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points in 40 games so far this season. Overall, he has 544 goals and 455 assists in 879 games. In a swap of their normal roles, Crosby has been the more prolific scorer this season with 26 goals and 18 assists for 44 points in 33 games. Crosby has 364-618-982 in 740 games. Both superstars, who broke into the NHL together back in 2005-06, will hit the 1,000-mark in the same season.

The two teams have played twice, with the Penguins winning in overtime in the season-opener and the Capitals winning 7-1 in mid-November. Washington has a six-game winning streak while the Penguins are riding a five-game streak.

In other good news for the Capitals, top-six winger T.J. Oshie will make his return after missing one game with an upper-body injury.

  • Tyler Myers will be away from the Winnipeg Jets for an unknown amount of time, as the defenseman deals with a personal matter, according to Scott Billeck, who covers the Jets for the Winnipeg News and the NHL. Billeck reports that Myers had been travelling with the team, but left the team sometime last week while the team was in Florida. Myers has been out of the lineup since mid-November with a back injury. He has two goals and five points in 11 games played.
  • It’s been a nightmare of a season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Steven Stamkos is likely out until the playoffs, but there’s no guarantee that the Lightning can survive that long. Currently, they have 42 points, four back of a playoff spot. While that’s not a big deficit, the Lightning have lost four games in a row for the second time this season, and are battling several key injuries. Stamkos, Brayden Point, Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle, J.T. Brown, Braydon Coburn, and Ben Bishop are all out of the lineup. The Lightning are facing the end of their current roster’s window of Cup contention, with Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Jonathan Drouin all needing new contracts. GM Steve Yzerman won’t be able to sign all of his pending free agents, and the team needs to go for it this year. TSN’s Bob McKenize reports that Yzerman is willing to deal nearly “just about anybody” up front, besides Drouin in order to acquire a top-four defenseman (interview transcribed by Chris Nichols of FanRag). Kevin Shattenkirk, Michael Stone, and Dougie Hamilton have all had their names out there this season, and are potential targets for Yzerman to go for. The former two are pending free agents while the latter has been the subject of rumors all year, despite Brian Burke’s insistence that he’s not available for less than 20 first-round picks.
  • The Edmonton Oilers are on pace for 94 points, which would be their first season above 90 points since 2005-06, when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals. Despite their fancy new digs, the Oilers are just 9-8-2 at home. OilersNation’s Robin Brownlee gave a startling statistic: the Oilers have won just 86 of their last 207 home games. Brownlee writes that the Oilers need to improve their home record if they want to solidify a playoff spot, seeing as 13 of their last 18 games of the season are at home. The Oilers are on pace to make the playoffs, in spite of their home record, not because of it.

Sunday Evening Snapshots: Panarin, Mason, Simmonds, Kane

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Super sophomore Artemi Panarin recently inked a two-year extension that will tie him to the Blackhawks through his restricted free agent years. Upon the expiration of the pact, one that carries an AAV of $6MM, Panarin will be a UFA and at 28 should be positioned to land a lucrative long-term deal in free agency. The structure is ideal for Panarin, as it allows him to max out his earnings over the next two years while still allowing him to reach free agency while still young enough to command a max-term deal. As Chris Kuc and Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune write, the deal overcame a late and unexpected obstacle in order to reach the finish line.

Panarin decided to change representation from Tom Lynn to Dan Milstein just before the agreement was finalized but the former stayed on to help the new agent complete the negotiations. Lynn, a former assistant GM with the Wild, has a strong relationship with Chicago assistant GM Norm MacIver and that helped grease the wheels on the arrangement. Milstein credits Lynn for his professionalism in difficult circumstances.

“After Artemi told him about the change, (Lynn) offered to stay on to help in any way he could,” Milstein told the Tribune. “He had called me and offered to pass on any and all things he had worked on previously. He and I consulted closely … (and) the whole thing came together in 48 hours.

“(Lynn) was very instrumental and he’s a class act. Ninety-nine percent of people would have hung up the phone and never spoke to you again. I can’t say anything bad about Tom and I know Artemi can’t say anything (bad) either.”

Panarin, who doesn’t speak English well, made the move because of the language barrier.

“As somebody who doesn’t really speak English fluently, it was a little bit of a hassle to bring everything to a translator first, have meetings and have to go through a translation at some point,” Panarin said via an interpreter. “I felt more comfortable getting somebody who speaks Russian.”

Kuc and Hine report that a source conveyed that despite what Milstein said, the relationship he shared with Lynn “was not as amicable as Milstein portrayed.” Regardless, Chicago and Panarin were ultimately able to find common ground and work out a deal both sides were happy with.

Elsewhere around the NHL tonight:

  • Sam Carchidi of Philly.com wonders whether the Flyers should re-sign goaltender Steve Mason to serve as a bridge to the team’s prospects at the position. According to Carchidi, the plan at the beginning of the campaign was to allow Mason and Michal Neuvirth, both pending free agents, to compete to see which one would earn an extension but injuries to Neuvirth have allowed Mason to take the lead in that competition by default. Ultimately the scribe feels Neuvirth is simply too injury-prone to be counted on as an undisputed #1 goalie. Carchidi believes a strong second half would nearly guarantee that the Flyers would look to re-up Mason. As it stands, should the team extend Mason, the team would have to expose young net minder Anthony Stolarz, who Carchidi feels has potential. The best bet, in the opinion of Carchidi, might be to deal Neuvirth and add another goaltender under contract for 2017-18 and whom they can leave exposed for the expansion draft.
  • Sticking with the Flyers, the Department of Player Safety will not have a hearing with Wayne Simmonds for his hit that knocked Lightning forward J.T. Brown out of yesterday’s game, tweets Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Smith adds that Brown has been placed on IR requiring him to sit out at least seven days as a result.
  • With Buffalo hosting Winnipeg last night, John Vogl of The Buffalo News revisits the blockbuster trade the two clubs made nearly two years ago. On February 11, 2015, Buffalo acquired winger Evender Kane, defenseman Zach Bogosian, and young goaltender Jason Kasdorf in exchange for defenseman Tyler Myers, winger Drew Stafford, forward prospects Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux and a 1st round draft pick. While Kane has struggled to produce up to his talent level, he did hit the 20-goal plateau last season and is on an 82-game pace for 26 goals this season. Myers, meanwhile, has missed all but 11 games this season but did contribute 27 points in 73 contests last season. Stafford had a 21-goal campaign a year ago but has slumped to just three this season. Vogl considers it too early to declare a winner, though with the 20-year-old Lemieux and Jack Roslovic – the player chosen with that first round pick – still developing, the Jets have a good chance of ultimately coming out ahead in the swap.

 

Injury Updates: Bjugstad, Leafs, Myers, Smith, Coburn

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The Florida Panthers announced that they have placed center Nick Bjugstad on injured reserve.  He suffered a lower body injury last night against the Predators early in the game and did not return.  George Richards of the Miami Herald reports (Twitter link) that he’ll miss a couple of weeks and that it’s a groin issue.

To say that this season has been a struggle for Bjugstad would be an understatement.  He broke his hand in the preseason which kept him out of the lineup until November 22nd and since then, he has scored just one goal and one assist in 21 games, despite seeing quite a bit of time in the top six.  He also has found himself shuffled to the right wing more frequently than he has been accustomed to.

With Roberto Luongo being a late scratch yesterday due to an upper body injury, the Panthers also recalled goaltender Sam Brittain from Manchester of the ECHL.  He’s expected to serve as James Reimer’s backup tonight against Boston if Luongo is unable to dress.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Maple Leafs center Ben Smith and defenseman Martin Marincin are skating but are not close to returning to the lineup, reports Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Marincin has been out since December 11th with a lower body while Smith has been sidelined since undergoing hand surgery on December 19th.
  • Although he started skating this week, Winnipeg blueliner Tyler Myers is expected to miss at least another week as he continues to recover from a lower body injury, reports Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press. He will miss his 25th straight game tonight and has five points (2-3-5) in 11 contests this year.
  • The Senators will activate center Zack Smith off IR and expect to have him in the lineup tonight against the Capitals, the team announced via Twitter. The 28 year old missed the last two games with an upper body injury and has 15 points (8-7-15) in 35 games this season.
  • Tampa Bay defenseman Braydon Coburn is day-to-day with an upper body injury and will not suit up today against the Flyers, reports Bryan Burns of the teams’ website (Twitter link).  Coburn had played in every game this season heading into this one, picking up a goal and four assists but is averaging his lowest ice time per night (15:56) since his rookie season back in 2006-07.

Injury Updates: Myers, Nash, Puempel, Couturier, Read, Marchenko

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Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tyler Myers has suffered a setback as he recovers from a lower body injury suffered last month.  Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters, including Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link), that Myers has “plateaued” in his recovery and that he’s not likely to return for at least a couple of weeks.

Myers has been out of the lineup since November 11th despite originally being classified as day-to-day.  He was off to a strong start prior to getting hurt with five points in 11 games while logging over 22 minutes per game in ice time.  In his absence, rookie Josh Morrissey has continued to play a bigger role than originally anticipated, something that will continue for at least the next couple of weeks now.

More injury updates from throughout the league:

  • Rangers wingers Rick Nash and Matt Puempel accompanied the team to Dallas as they begin a two game road trip and are nearing a return to action, writes Matt Calamia on their team website. Both players have missed the last week with a groin injury and a concussion respectively.  As Calamia notes, their decision to re-assign winger Nicklas Jensen back to the minors is a sign that at least one of the two forwards could be ready to suit up against the Stars tomorrow night.
  • Flyers center Sean Couturier (knee) and right winger Matt Read (oblique) both skated for the first time today as they continue to recover from their respective injuries, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirier. Couturier, who expects that he will have to wear a knee brace for the rest of the season, is targeting Philadelphia’s road trip beginning December 28th for his return to the lineup.  Read does not know yet when he will be ready to return; the original prognosis was that he would be out until early January.
  • Red Wings defenseman Alexey Marchenko re-aggravated his sprained shoulder last night, just days after returning to the lineup from that injury, notes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Head coach Jeff Blashill says it’s a day-to-day issue for the 24 year old.  Through 22 games this year, Marchenko has five assists and is averaging a career high in ice time per game at 17:39.  He’s likely to be replaced in the lineup tomorrow by Jonathan Ericsson who is set to return after missing the last three games with back spasms.

Injury Updates: Staal, Jets, Lazar, Bennett, Neal

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The Carolina Hurricanes got some bad news on the injury front as Jordan Staal’s skating session on Monday did not go as well as expected and as a result, he is not expected to accompany the team on their West Coast trip, reports Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer.

Staal has been out of the lineup since November 27th because of a concussion.  He’s in his fifth season with the Hurricanes and has nine points (5-4-9) through 21 games so far this season.  In the meantime, Teuvo Teravainen will continue to fill Staal’s role as the second line center having shifted over from the left wing.

Still with Carolina, forward Elias Lindholm, who has missed the last two games with a lower body injury, practiced with a non-contact jersey today.  Although he likely won’t be ready for their next game, he is expected to play at some point on the road trip.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • In a series of four tweets, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun provided updates on several injured Winnipeg Jets. Leading scorer Mark Scheifele (lower body) won’t play tonight against Detroit but skated today and is progressing well.  Defenseman Tyler Myers skated for the first time today since suffering a lower body injury nearly four weeks ago but their remains no timetable for his return.  Center Nic Petan, who has seven points in 13 games since being recalled, is out for another couple of weeks for his lower body issue.  As for right winger Joel Armia (knee), he’s expected to return sometime in mid-to-late December while center Shawn Matthias (lower body) will be out a little longer as his tentative return date is closer to early January.
  • Senators forward Curtis Lazar is out indefinitely with an upper body injury suffered last night against the Penguins, notes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. The team announced via Twitter that Phil Varone has been recalled from their AHL affiliate in Binghamton to take his place.  (Also recalled was goalie Andrew Hammond as Craig Anderson is taking another leave of absence.)  Varone has 13 points in 18 minor league games this season and led all forwards in the league in preseason scoring.  TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that the injury isn’t believed to be too serious.
  • The Devils announced (via Twitter) that they have activated right winger Beau Bennett off of injured reserve. He has missed the last three games due to a right leg laceration.  To make room for him on the roster, the team assigned center John Quenneville back to Albany of the AHL.
  • Predators left winger James Neal skated with teammates for the first time since suffering an upper body injury on November 25th against Winnipeg, writes Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Evidently, everything checked out well as Vingan tweets that the team has activated him off of IR and that he is expected to play tonight against Colorado.

Injury Notes: Couturier, Gaborik, Cunningham

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The Philadelphia Flyers’ nightmare season continues. Today, the team will recall Scott Laughton from Lehigh Valley to replace Sean Couturier, who will be out for 4-6 weeks with a left knee injury. According to Sam Carchidi, Couturier will be examined this afternoon in Philadelphia but has already been placed on injured reserve.  The 23-year old centerman had eight points in twenty games this season.

For Laughton, this won’t be the first time he’s set foot on NHL ice, but it will be the first this season. The 22-year old former first-rounder played 71 games for the Flyers last season, recording 21 points but was injured early in training camp and had been playing in the AHL since his return. Eight points in eight games at the lower level as he shook off the rust, and proved that he’s ready for an NHL return. As Carchidi reports, he’ll be available to dress tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, though there has been no indication whether or not he’ll get into the lineup right away.

  • Marian Gaborik is back with the Los Angeles Kings and aiming for Saturday to make his season debut, according to Kings beat reporter Elliott Teaford. The 34-year old sniper has been out since suffering an injury at the World Cup in Toronto in September, breaking his right foot in a game against Sweden. The Kings will hope that he’ll come back fresh and looking to show that last year wasn’t what to expect going forward. The former 40-goal man only scored 12 goals and 22 points last season, the lowest point total of his career. He also played in only 54 games, a mark he’ll hope to eclipse this season (the Kings have 62 games remaining).
  • Sarah McLellan of AZ Central is reporting that Craig Cunningham is still in stable but critical condition after suffering a heart attack on the ice Saturday night. Cunningham was playing for the Tucson Roadrunners when he collapsed on the ice and needed to be taken to a local hospital.
  • Tyler Myers has officially been moved to the injured reserve, retroactive to November 11th, reports Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. The defenseman suffered a lower-body injury just three days after he was last activated from the IR. The hulking blueliner has played in just 11 games this season, scoring five points.

Jacob Trouba Set To Make 2016-17 Season Debut

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According to head coach Paul Maurice, recently re-signed defenseman Jacob Trouba will make his 2016-17 season debut tonight against Colorado, tweets Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. The Jets and the RFA blue liner settled on a two-year, bridge pact on Monday that comes with an AAV of $3MM. Trouba had asked for a trade out of Winnipeg last season but has since rescinded that request.

Of course one of the issues Trouba talked about during the stalemate was the fact he wanted to play on his natural, right side but with Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers on the depth chart above him, those opportunities had been few and far between with the Jets. Maurice did not state whether Trouba would see action on the right side or with whom he would play, saying only: “We’re going to send him out there with a right-handed stick.”

The coach also did not indicate who would be coming out of the lineup tonight to make room for Trouba though Wiebe suggested Paul Postma was the likeliest option. Postma has appeared in 12 games so far this season and has two points for the Jets.

Despite inking a new deal to remain in Winnipeg and pulling back his trade request, rumors linger that the team could still move him. Now under contract at what many might feel is a bargain price, teams interested in Trouba might be more inclined to meet the high asking price the Jets have placed on the young blue liner. During the 2011-12 campaign, Kyle Turris, who shares the same agent as Trouba, signed a short-term deal with the Coyotes only to be dealt days later to Ottawa. It’s possible the Jets could look to do the same with Trouba.

 

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