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Injury Notes: Capitals, Sabres, Blackhawks

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The Washington Capitals will be without both Rasmus Sandin and Tom Wilson, as both players have been designated as day-to-day with upper-body injuries. Wilson was on the receiving end of the butt-end of Alex Laferriere’s stick in the team’s recent matchup against the Los Angeles Kings, leaving Wilson bloodied and forcing him out of action for a brief moment, though the winger returned before the final horn.

Both players have played extended time for the Capitals this season, with Sandin appearing in 36 games and Wilson one of only six players to appear in all 38 of the team’s games. Sandin’s 11 assists on the season rank fourth on the Capitals, though the 23-year-old defenseman has yet to score his first goal of the year. Washington brought in Sandin ahead of last season’s trade deadline, sending the Toronto Maple Leafs Erik Gustafsson and the 28th-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, which Toronto used to bring in Easton Cowan.

Sandin has averaged 22 minutes of ice time this season, ranked second among the team’s skaters, while Wilson has averaged roughly 18-and-a-half. Both players are core lineup pieces that the Capitals will want back as soon as possible.

Other injury notes from around the league:

Injury Updates: Wild, Sabres, Lehkonen

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The Minnesota Wild have been dealing with an absolutely massive slate of injuries in their recent stretch of games, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the team. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported today that the trio of core pillars for the Wild, Kirill Kaprizov, Filip Gustavsson, and Jared Spurgeon are all “progressing and skating,” and thereby in their “next phase” toward full returns to the ice.

Adding Kaprizov, Spurgeon, and Gustavsson back to their roster would give the Wild their number-one winger, number-one defenseman, and number-one goalie back. The team has been strong under new head coach John Hynes, but in order for them to truly have a chance of keeping up in the Central Division that trio of players will need to return to the ice sooner rather than later.

Some other injury updates from across the NHL:

  • As reported by the Buffalo Times Herald’s Bill Hoppe, Buffalo Sabres wingers Victor Olofsson and Jordan Greenway are currently sick and out on a day-to-day timeline for the team. Olofsson was a healthy scratch for the team’s most recent game in favor of Eric Robinson, while Greenway skated on their third line alongside Zach Benson and Casey Mittelstadt. With captain Kyle Okposo now out week-to-week, the possibility both Greenway and Olofsson miss tomorrow’s game against the Seattle Kraken would mean the team could potentially need to recall a forward or two from the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports that forward Artturi Lehkonen is skating at Avalanche practice in a white jersey, meaning he has officially moved past the non-contact stage of his injury recovery. The 28-year-old Finnish winger had a breakout campaign last season when he scored at a 27-goal, 65-point 82-game pace and had scored eight points in 12 games this season before suffering his significant injury.

Sabres Notes: Savoie, Olofsson, Samuelsson, Levi

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With Matthew Savoie’s conditioning stint coming to an end shortly, the Sabres will have a decision to make with the young forward.  Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News suggests that Buffalo will promote the 19-year-old and start his nine-game stint, delaying his likely return to junior.  Savoie is doing well in the minors with five points in as many games but is ineligible to play there full-time this season.

However, they’ll need to open up a roster spot to do so.  While returning Lukas Rousek to AHL Rochester is the easiest option, Harrington proposes that waiving Victor Olofsson might make more sense.  With a $4.75MM cap hit, he’s a lock to pass through unclaimed, allowing the Sabres an opportunity to give Rousek (who is part of their future) a longer look.  Olofsson has been scratched in five games so far this season and has been held without a point in the six contests he has played in.

More from Buffalo:

  • The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of last night’s loss to Philadelphia; head coach Don Granato didn’t have an update on his status post-game. The 23-year-old has been his usual steady self in the early going this season, notching three points along with 25 hits and 25 blocks in his first eleven appearances while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time per night before Friday’s contest.  If he’s going to be out for a while, an IR placement would also open a roster spot for Savoie’s promotion although it’d leave the Sabres with only six healthy blueliners.
  • Goaltender Devon Levi is expected to start tonight against Toronto, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old has missed a little over two weeks with a lower-body injury.  Levi had gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season, posting a 3.26 GAA with a .892 SV% in his first four appearances.  Buffalo never moved Levi to IR during the injury so no corresponding roster move needs to be made.

East Notes: Stamkos, Olofsson, Mayfield

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will likely miss his second straight game Tuesday with a lower-body injury as he did not take line rushes with the team at morning skate, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relays. It’s another significant injury blow for the Lightning, who remain without star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and depth forward Tyler Motte with longer-term injuries.

The Bolts have dropped back-to-back games against key divisional opponents and have struggled to keep the puck out of their net, although their patchwork goaltending tandem of Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins isn’t entirely to blame. The team has controlled just 41.7% of scoring chances at five-on-five play thus far and has conceded 80 shots over its last two defeats at the hands of the Red Wings and Senators. Missing Stamkos, who has two goals and two assists through two games, makes it harder for the team to outscore their problems. He’s in the final season of an eight-year, $68MM extension signed in 2016 and is one of the best pending free agents available, notably without any extension conversations to date.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference this morning:

  • Sabres winger Victor Olofsson will serve as a healthy scratch tonight against the Lightning, head coach Don Granato confirmed Tuesday morning. Tyson Jost, who’s served as a healthy scratch for their first two games of the season, will make his 2023-24 season debut. Olofsson, set to become a free agent next summer, was featured in trade talks this offseason. However, the team held onto him for scoring depth after youngster Jack Quinn sustained an Achilles injury that will keep him out until December. Olofsson is a skilled shooter who’s notched 20 goals in three out of the last four seasons, but his defensive impacts are poor, and his possession numbers are average at best, leading him to become viewed as a power-play specialist. He’s been held off the scoresheet through two contests this season and has a -2 rating, averaging 14:07 per game. 22-year-old Peyton Krebs is projected to fill Olofsson’s vacated spot in the top six, while Jost will slide in at fourth-line center to fill Krebs’ previous role.
  • Islanders head coach Lane Lambert told reporters that defenseman Scott Mayfield is officially out for Tuesday’s contest against the Coyotes. The veteran shutdown man is day-to-day with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot late in last Saturday’s win against the Sabres and did not practice yesterday due to swelling in his leg. Lambert confirmed Samuel Bolduc would replace Mayfield in the lineup and make his season debut. The 2019 second-round pick skated in 17 contests with the Islanders last season, recording two goals and an assist.

Atlantic Notes: Olofsson, Seider, Raymond, Bouchard

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Earlier this offseason, Sabres winger Victor Olofsson and his representatives expected a trade to be coming at some point before training camp.  However, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News suggests that a move involving the 28-year-old is a lot less likely now thanks to the Achilles injury to Jack Quinn that will keep the youngster out for at least the first two months of the season.  Olofsson is now in the final year of his contract which carries a $4.75MM AAV which, in itself, makes a trade difficult despite coming off a year that saw him collect 28 goals, a new career high.  With Quinn out for a while, Olofsson could lock down a spot a little higher in the lineup after seeing time on the fourth line last season which would give him a chance to be a productive piece for Buffalo in the early going in 2023-24.

More from the Atlantic:

  • A pair of Red Wings in defenseman Moritz Seider and winger Lucas Raymond are eligible for contract extensions this summer. MLive’s Ansar Khan assessed both players to try to determine a rough idea of what a max-term agreement for each would look like.  In Seider’s case, Dallas blueliner Miro Heiskanen’s deal which carries an AAV of $8.45MM is a good comparable and a deal around that price point could keep him below Dylan Larkin’s $8.7MM price tag which could be a soft ceiling.  Meanwhile, Khan feels that Montreal’s Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield whose AAVs are just below $7.9MM might be the right spot for Raymond.  GM Steve Yzerman has a little over $54MM in commitments on the books for 2024-25 per CapFriendly which means that Detroit has more than enough wiggle room to do long-term agreements with both youngsters if they so desire.
  • Earlier this offseason, Tampa Bay hired Joel Bouchard as their new head coach with AHL Syracuse, taking the place of Benoit Groulx. Speaking with Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette, Bouchard indicated that he wasn’t actively seeking another coaching position at this time and that he never interviewed for the job; it was simply offered to him by Lightning GM Julien BriseBois.  This is his third different AHL coaching position after spending time previously with Laval and San Diego.

Evening Notes: Olofsson, Senators, Andersen

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Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News wrote today that Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson, and his representatives expect him to be traded prior to the start of training camp in September. Olofsson has spent his entire five-year career with the Sabres where he has put up 167 points in 263 NHL games. This news isn’t all that surprising given that the soon to be 28-year-old is just a year away from being an unrestricted free agent and he was a healthy scratch for the Sabres down the stretch while they were battling for a playoff position.

The Swedish forward has been remarkably consistent in his career notching at least 20 goals in three of his last four seasons with the lockout shortened 2020-21 season being the one year he didn’t reach the mark. This past season Olofsson set a career high with 28 goals in 75 games to go along with 12 assists, but he has been made expendable by the emergence of several Sabres forward prospects and his pricey $4.75MM cap hit. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has reportedly been very active on the trade market as he tries to get Buffalo back to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.

In other evening notes:

  • The sale of the Ottawa Senators franchise may finally be entering its final days. This is according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia who has been tirelessly reporting on the process. It seems likely that the new owner will be either Michael Andlauer or Jeffrey and Michael Kimel of the Harlo Capital Group, however Los Angeles producer Neko Sparks remains in the mix but seems less likely to be the preferred bidder. League sources told Garrioch that they are confident there are no more major hurdles to clear leading them to believe they are on the verge of closing out the eight-month process. It’ll be interesting to see if the bid comes close to the $1B bid that was apparently posted by Steve Apostolopoulos, who has since left the bidding after he reportedly became frustrated with the process.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes tweeted today that defender Amalie Andersen has inked a one-year contract with the Buffalo Beauts and become the first Danish born player to sign in the Premier Hockey Federation. The 23-year-old is the younger sister of Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen and played four years at the University of Maine where she put up two goals and seven assists in 60 career games. The Beauts are one of the founding teams in the PHF having started with three other clubs back in 2015 while the league was named the National Women’s Hockey League.

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Olofsson, Dorion

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The Red Wings recently presented a new extension offer to pending UFA center Dylan Larkin, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.  However, it does not appear to have moved the needle much as Pagnotta notes that there remains a sizable gap to bridge in discussions.  Larkin has made it clear that he wants to remain in Detroit and it seems likely that both sides are looking for a long-term agreement which means money would be the gap they’re trying to work through.  After finishing just under a point per game last season, the 26-year-old is on a similar pace this season and his camp could point to Mathew Barzal’s extension that carries a $9.15MM AAV as a possible comparable in negotiations.  If something can’t be worked out in the next six weeks leading up to the trade deadline, Larkin could become a trade candidate if they don’t want to run the risk of losing him for nothing this summer.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While Sabres winger Victor Olofsson has opted for short-term contracts in each of his last two negotiations, he told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he hopes to remain with Buffalo long-term. The 27-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, $9.5MM deal and has 21 goals in 45 games so far this season, good for third on the team.  Will that be enough to land the long-term commitment that he wants?   He’ll be eligible for an extension on July 1st so he’ll have to wait a little while to potentially find out.
  • There has been a belief that the Senators are shopping for help on the back end and NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis notes (Twitter link) that Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion is watching the Kings for the second time in four days. Los Angeles has four right-shot defenders on their roster plus promising prospect Jordan Spence in the minors so their surplus could certainly be of interest to the Sens.  Notably, none of those blueliners are on expiring contracts so Dorion would be taking on a two-year commitment if he finds a trade he likes to improve their defense corps.

Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Victor Olofsson

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The Buffalo Sabres have locked up their big restricted free agent. Winger Victor Olofsson has agreed to terms on a two-year contract worth $4.75MM per season, according to the team.

In 2021-22, Olofsson notched the second 20-goal season of his young NHL career. Entering his fourth full NHL season, he’s amassed a total of 55 goals, 72 assists, and 127 points through 188 games.

It’s hard to argue that $4.75MM isn’t a good cap hit for a dependable middle-six scorer, even if his defensive game and even-strength reliability leave something to be desired. With just two years of term, the risk is low for the Sabres. They also won’t be shy about handing out money on short-term deals this offseason, as the team still needs to ensure they hit the salary cap floor.

Olofsson will join what’s quickly becoming a deep, diverse group of younger, skilled wingers in Western New York. With Buffalo still far away from the $82.5MM salary cap Upper Limit, expect them to make a few more additions of the next few days.

Extension Notes: Larkin, Olofsson, Deslauriers

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While many players who are just a year away from trips to unrestricted free agency, such as J.T. Miller or David Pastrnak have seen their names floated in various degrees of trade rumors, Detroit Red Wings fans have not had to face a similar degree of speculation regarding their own prominent 2023 free agent: Dylan Larkin. That’s because Larkin, 25, was born only 45 minutes outside of Detroit, played at the University of Michigan, and now captains the NHL team he grew up rooting for. He’s been attached by the hip to the Red Wings for most of his life, either as a fan or player, and many have assumed that his relationship with the team would endure through any potential contract hiccups.

That seems to be what’s most likely to happen. Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Red Wings “are believed to be working on an extension” for Larkin and GM Steve Yzerman has in the past communicated a desire to get Larkin signed to a new long-term deal. Larkin had a career year 2021-22, setting a career-high in points-per-game and effectively bouncing back from what was a miserable, 23-point 2020-21 campaign. Larkin has had his bouts of inconsistency, but at his best he’s a near point-per-game top-six center. In a market where a center with a weaker offensive resume like Kevin Hayes can earn above $7MM on a long-term extension and comparable centers such as Tomas Hertl are making $8MM or more on their own deals, expect a decent raise for Larkin from the $6.1MM cap hit he’s played on for the past few seasons.

Now, for some other notes regarding extension business this offseason:

  • As part of his 32 Thoughts blog, Friedman reported on quite a few extension situations across the NHL, touching on Larkin as well as Buffalo Sabres winger Victor Olofsson. Olofsson, who turns 27 this month, played 2021-22 on a $3.05MM cap hit and could be looking for a raise after a strong offensive season. Olofsson’s negotiation is an important one for the Sabres and GM Kevyn Adams, as Olofsson is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent who is precariously close to a trip to unrestricted free agency. A native of Ornskoldsvik, a Swedish hockey hotbed, Olofsson scored 20 goals and 49 points in 72 games this past season and also has an impressive 42-point 54-game rookie campaign. Per Friedman, the Sabres “are making progress” on an extension with Olofsson, and have “boatloads of cap space” to get it done. All indications point to the talented sniper remaining in Buffalo for the foreseeable future.
  • One pending free agent situation where an extension might not be possible is with Minnesota Wild winger Nicolas Deslauriers. Per Friedman, the Wild want to keep Deslauriers, and GM Bill Guerin “would already have Deslauriers re-signed” if it were possible. But unfortunately for the Wild, the cap constraints imposed by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts could keep the Wild from being true contenders in what is expected to be a “hot market” for Deslauriers. As a result, Friedman believes the Wild “won’t be able” to retain the winger they surrendered a 2023 third-rounder to acquire. Deslauriers 31, had only 13 points in 81 games in 2021-22, although that likely won’t stop him from having a solid amount of interest once he hits the open market on the 13th.

Sabres Place Zemgus Girgensons On IR; Activate Dahlin, Olofsson From Protocol

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The Buffalo Sabres activated defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Victor Olofsson from COVID protocol ahead of tonight’s game against Colorado after erroneous COVID tests held them out of their last game on Saturday. The team also placed center Zemgus Girgensons on injured reserve retroactive to January 28th with an undisclosed injury.

Girgensons, the longest-tenured Sabre, missed the entirety of the 2020-21 campaign with a hamstring injury suffered during training camp. Back and healthy for this year, he’s brought his extremely solid defensive game to the team’s bottom six.

He’s been in and out of the lineup the past few weeks, though, missing time earlier in the month with another unknown injury and some time in December while on COVID protocol. The Latvian centerman has seven goals and 12 points in 34 games.

Getting Dahlin and Olofsson back in the fold is a large factor for the Sabres and head coach Don Granato. Dahlin, the 2018 first-overall pick, is playing some of the best hockey of his career right now and has 28 points through 42 games. Olofsson is a valuable depth piece who can put pucks in the net and is an important piece with Tage Thompson already out of the lineup.

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