Pacific Notes: McDavid, Desharnais, Pietrangelo, Gibson, Stalock
Oilers superstar Connor McDavid will miss his second straight contest with a lower-body injury tonight when they take on the Coyotes, per Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton. “I won’t go tonight. We will see about tomorrow. We are going day-by-day,” McDavid said.
Per Gregor, the lower-body ailment had been nagging McDavid for some time but was aggravated in last Saturday’s contest against the Flames, in which he played over 20 minutes and registered two assists. The Edmonton captain isn’t worried about it lingering for much longer, however, and his availability for the playoffs currently isn’t in question. His absence didn’t stop the Oilers from rattling off their seventh straight win on Wednesday in a 5-1 dismantling of the Golden Knights. He needs one more assist this season to reach 100 and would be the first player to do so since Wayne Gretzky in 1991.
Sticking with the Oilers, their front office has tabled contract talks with pending UFA defenseman Vincent Desharnais through the postseason, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports. They’d been in discussions for the past while, per Rishaug, as Edmonton looks to keep around their breakout depth shutdown force. He’s late to the party for full-time NHL roles at age 27 but has become a regular this season with a goal, 10 assists, and a +5 rating in 73 contests while averaging 15:31 per game. He hasn’t been tasked with too much responsibility but has controlled possession well, logging a 54.7 xGF% at even strength. He’s nearing completion of a two-year, two-way contract and is almost certainly looking at a one-way deal next season, regardless of whether he stays in Edmonton.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Golden Knights star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo hasn’t resumed skating as he deals with a lengthy illness and will likely be out for at least two more games, head coach Bruce Cassidy said (via The Athletic’s Jesse Granger). He’s yet to be cleared to practice by the team’s medical staff. Pietrangelo missed six games with an illness in late March and returned to the lineup against the Wild on the 30th but exited again after two appearances. He hasn’t been with the team in over a week, last skating in an April 2 contest against the Canucks. Vegas will continue to roll with Nicolas Hague playing his offside on their top pairing, with the newly-extended Noah Hanifin in his absence.
- The Ducks have reassigned netminder Alex Stalock to AHL San Diego. Starter John Gibson is set to return from an upper-body injury tonight against the Flames. The latter is expected to make his first start since March 30 against the Oilers, head coach Greg Cronin said. Gibson backed up Lukáš Dostál in two contests before sustaining the injury outside of game action, forcing Stalock’s recall last week. The 36-year-old farmhand didn’t play, with Dostál making five straight starts. Stalock’s been recalled on multiple instances this season but hasn’t seen any NHL ice, with either Dostál or Gibson leading the way in the other’s absence. He’s struggled heavily in the minors this season, posting a .889 SV% in 13 games. A pending UFA, Stalock could be heading toward retirement this summer.
Nominees Announced For 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Nominees are selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, with finalists being named near the end of the regular season. Previous winners include Kris Letang (2023), Carey Price (2022), and Oskar Lindblom (2021). Today, a new list of 32 nominees has been named.
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Urho Vaakanainen
Arizona Coyotes – Connor Ingram
Boston Bruins – Danton Heinen
Buffalo Sabres – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Calgary Flames – Oliver Kylington
Carolina Hurricanes – Frederik Andersen
Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Blackwell
Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Drouin
Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars – Matt Duchene
Detroit Red Wings – Alex Lyon
Edmonton Oilers – Vincent Desharnais
Florida Panthers – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Los Angeles Kings – Viktor Arvidsson
Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi
Montreal Canadiens – Joel Armia
Nashville Predators – Michael McCarron
New Jersey Devils – Curtis Lazar
New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck
New York Rangers – Jonathan Quick
Ottawa Senators – Claude Giroux
Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier
Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby
San Jose Sharks – Justin Bailey
Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues – Nathan Walker
Tampa Bay Lightning – Michael Eyssimont
Toronto Maple Leafs – Ilya Samsonov
Vancouver Canucks – Noah Juulsen
Vegas Golden Knights – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington Capitals – T.J. Oshie
Winnipeg Jets – Laurent Brossoit
Injury Updates: Zegras, Lindgren, Trouba, Hoffman, Desharnais
Ducks center Trevor Zegras is listed as a game-time decision for their game tomorrow against Tampa Bay, reports Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has missed more than two months with an ankle injury, his second extended absence after missing 20 games earlier in the year with a lower-body issue. In between, Zegras has struggled offensively, notching just four goals and seven assists in the 20 games he has been able to suit up for which fueled trade speculation leading into the trade deadline. With Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson locked in down the middle, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Anaheim deploy Zegras on the wing when he’s cleared to return.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren has begun skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today (Twitter link). He has been out for a week but is still a few weeks away from returning. Meanwhile, Mercogliano adds that blueliner Jacob Trouba (lower body) is likely closer to getting back into the lineup. That said, head coach Peter Laviolette suggested that the captain is likely another week or more away from being able to suit up. New York is in a tight battle with Carolina for the top spot in the Metropolitan but they’ll be waiting a little while longer to get one of their blueliners back.
- Sharks winger Mike Hoffman is nearing a return from his upper-body injury but won’t play tonight against Chicago, head coach David Quinn told reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News. The 34-year-old has missed the last two weeks with the injury which he revealed is a concussion. It has been a tough year for Hoffman who has been limited to just 10 goals and 12 assists through 61 games so far, hardly the type of platform year he was hoping to have as he gets set to hit the open market in July.
- Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais will return to the lineup tonight against Toronto, notes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). The 27-year-old suffered a hand injury last weekend against Colorado. Desharnais is in his first season of full-time NHL duty and has nine points along with 96 blocks and 104 hits in 63 games so far this season.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Vincent Desharnais
After playing Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche shorthanded, the Edmonton Oilers earned themselves another emergency recall that is exempt from the cap. The catch is that it can only be a player with a cap hit of $850K or lower. Luckily, Vincent Desharnais falls right at that threshold and has been recalled today to give the team an extra defenseman.
It might seem like savvy cap management, getting Desharnais and Devin Shore up for no hit, but the Oilers have had to play multiple games shorthanded now, and have lost both by a small margin. The club is coming off three-straight extra-time losses and is now 4-1-5 in their last ten.
For an NHL team to get themselves into this kind of situation is rather surprising, given how much time they had to clear cap space while Kailer Yamamoto was injured. Should anyone else experience minor injuries, the team would likely be forced to play shorthanded again.
As the deadline approaches, the team will have to consider making a cap-clearing move of some sort if they want to improve the group in any fashion.
For now, the big, bruising Desharnais will get back into the lineup, after showing pretty well earlier this year. The 6’6″ defenseman recorded four assists and 17 penalty minutes in 12 games, registering an impressive +9 rating despite playing just 12 minutes a night.
Kailer Yamamoto Activated From Injured Reserve
The Edmonton Oilers have bought themselves some time, though they are now in a tricky situation. Today’s activation of Kailer Yamamoto from long-term injured reserve comes with the reassignment of both Dylan Holloway and Vincent Desharnais, leaving the team with only 20 active skaters.
That’s enough to cover a lineup, though if the team suffers any minor injuries – ones that do not need long-term injured reserve – they will be forced to play short. Once they do play a game with fewer than 20 skaters, they will receive a cap-free recall for a player under $850K, but that still limits their options. Holloway, for instance, couldn’t be brought back under that exemption.
So, for the time being, the 21-year-old forward is stuck in the minors, despite having played in 51 games this season for Edmonton. They can play it off as an opportunity for Holloway to get big minutes and continue to develop, but there’s little reason to think this was the plan all along. The Oilers are stuck, until they make a trade to free up some cap space or bite the bullet and waive one of their more expensive forwards.
Yamamoto’s return is a bright spot, at least. The 24-year-old forward is coming off his first 20-goal campaign and has 12 points through 31 appearances this year. He gives the team a nice boost as we close in on the trade deadline, and hopefully, will be able to retake his position as a top-six option next to their superstar forwards.
Injury Notes: Cernak, Holden, Desharnais
The Tampa Bay Lightning are without a top-four defenseman tonight, per Lightning Insider’s Erik Erlendsson. Erik Cernak has an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Tampa’s premiere shutdown defender will miss his fifth game of the 2022-23 campaign, as numerous short-term absences have kept him out of the lineup throughout the season. Rookie Nicklaus Perbix takes Cernak’s top-four spot tonight against the Arizona Coyotes. Cernak has 10 points in 49 games and a +1 rating on the season, as he enters an eight-year, $41.6MM extension next season.
- The Ottawa Senators placed defenseman Nick Holden on injured reserve Wednesday, CapFriendly reports. Holden is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury that kept him out of yesterday’s storybook shootout victory over the New York Islanders. The 35-year-old veteran of 636 NHL games has a goal and nine assists in 47 appearances this season, and his 10 points are tied for third among Senators defensemen with Travis Hamonic.
- Edmonton Oilers depth defender Vincent Desharnais won’t play against the Detroit Red Wings tonight because of an undisclosed illness, says Oilers color commentator Bob Stauffer. Desharnais has been a late bloomer in the Oilers organization, defying the odds to play NHL games after joining the Bakersfield Condors on an AHL contract. The 26-year-old 6’6″ defender has four assists in 12 games this season, largely slotting in when the team has opted to play 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Vincent Desharnais
Perhaps the Edmonton Oilers can find their defensive stalwart from within. Today the team has recalled Vincent Desharnais from the Bakersfield Condors, the first NHL recall of his professional career.
The 26-year-old defenseman signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Oilers last spring, after a long grind through the college and minor league ranks. Selected 183rd overall in 2016, Desharnais played four years for Providence College, then one in the ECHL, and two more in the AHL before earning his first NHL deal. Now, the team will hope that his 6’6″ frame can translate to the NHL and give them a more effective option for their struggling defensive unit.
Desharnais was excellent in the AHL last year. Racking up 27 points in 66 games, he led the entire league in +/- with a +36 rating. There are times when that statistic can incredibly misleading, but from all accounts, the massive defenseman was a big reason why the Condors were such an effective group. This year hasn’t been quite as good, with Desharnais recording just two points in 13 games, but it isn’t his offense that the team needs.
Edmonton continues to leak scoring chances and goals at a concerning rate, including Saturday night when they gave up two third-period goals to the Colorado Avalanche, before losing in overtime. The team had seven defensemen dressed, but still relied on Darnell Nurse to play more than 28 minutes. Three of Philip Broberg‘s ten minutes were short-handed, while Markus Niemelainen saw just a handful of shifts.
While they continue to look for potential trade candidates, it will be interesting to see if Desharnais gets a chance to play. The Oilers are in Los Angeles to take on the Kings tonight.