Central Notes: Tarasenko, Kunin, Kamenev, Ranta
When St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko separated his left shoulder on the final game of the season last year, he underwent surgery the following day and was expected to be out four to six months, which theoretically coincided with the start of the regular season if he needed the latter amount of time to recuperate.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that Tarasenko just hit the four-month date in his recovery and he expects to be ready for the start of training camp in a month. He was cleared to skate and began skating nearly a week ago, but he has yet to test his repaired shoulder.
“I need to talk about it with the doctors more,” Tarasenko told the team’s website, “but I’m cleared to skate with the group, but only with some contact right now. But I can shoot. I feel great and I feel stronger. I’m ready for the season.”
Assuming there are no setbacks, Tarasenko should be ready. With a group of new additions to the Blues this offseason, they will need the 26-year-old to be ready to go if they want a chance to compete for a playoff spot this year. Tarasenko had a bit of a down year, posting 33 goals and 66 points.
- NHL.com’s Dan Myers writes that Minnesota Wild forward Luke Kunin still is not 100 percent after tearing his ACL five months ago against the Detroit Red Wings and undergoing surgery four months ago to repair it. However, the 20-year-old has already been skating for three or four weeks now and feels that he should be ready for training camp in September. The team’s first-round pick in 2016 hopes to make the club out of camp after appearing in 19 games for the Minnesota Wild last season. “I try not to look too far ahead, just take it week-by-week, keep getting stronger and more comfortable on the ice and just get that confidence back,” Kunin said. “It was definitely nice to sort of check that off I guess, but it’s not a goal of mine to just be up and down. I want to be there full time, I want to be there for a long time and be an impact player that’s going to help the team win.”
- NHL.com’s Maddie Karr takes a look back at the disappointing rookie campaign of Colorado Avalanche winger Vladislav Kamenev. Considering the haul that the Avalanche received in the Matt Duchene trade from the Ottawa Senators, many people forgot about Kamenev who has become an afterthought after the team received defenseman Samuel Girard and the Senators 2019 first-round pick, which could potentially be the No. 1 pick. However, Kamenev looked to be a key piece as the team recalled him from the AHL just nine days after the trade, but the high-scoring winger instead suffered a broken arm in that first game and missed 50 games. Despite just getting into three NHL games with the Avalanche, Kamenev still has a good chance to break with the team as a bottom-six forward if all goes well. “I know that he’s a trusted defensive player, but he has a great skillset,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “He has good hands, good feet, smart player, committed on the defensive side of the puck.”
- Another Colorado Avalanche prospect, Sampo Ranta, the team’s third-round pick in this year’s draft who is expected to attend the University of Wisconsin, may not attend there after all, reports Providence Journal’s Mark Divver. The scribe writes that Ranta has hit an admission snag at Wisconsin and suggests the 6-foot-2 winger could find himself at Boston University.
Minor Transactions: 3/18/18
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to bounce back from a shutout loss to the injury-riddled Boston Bruins, the Vegas Golden Knights try to right the ship after a 4-5-1 run, the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers jockey for playoff positions, and the St. Louis Blues, Anaheim Ducks, and Calgary Flames look to stay alive in the postseason picture as the NHL provides a slate of eight intriguing games today. Here is how teams are preparing:
- The Buffalo Sabres have reassigned Justin Bailey to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. However, beat writer John Vogl indicates that it could be short-term. Bailey owes the AHL a one-game suspension, which he will serve tonight, but Vogl expects he could be back up with the Sabres on Monday. Buffalo is far outside the playoff picture and should be playing as many of their young players as possible down the stretch.
- With Carter Rowney dealing with injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Josh Jooris on an emergency basis. Jooris was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at the deadline in an exchange for Greg McKegg, but was not expected to play much of a role for Pittsburgh. Yet, he’s already played in two games for the Penguins and could take on a regular role on the fourth line moving forward.
- CapFriendly tweets the Colorado Avalanche have activated forward Vladislav Kamenev off of injured reserve and is already playing with the team’s fourth line Sunday. Kamenev, who broke his arm in November one NHL after he was traded from Nashville in the Matt Duchene trade, has only played 17 AHL games between Milwaukee and San Antonio, putting up three goals and 13 assists. He had been on a conditioning loan with San Antonio for the past week.
- CapFriendly reported that the San Jose Sharks have recalled defenseman Tim Heed from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL after being sent down Tuesday. Heed has served as a spare defenseman for most of the season for the Sharks as he’s played in 29 games this year, having put up three goals and eight assists.