Golden Knights Place William Carrier On LTIR, Recall Brendan Brisson
After adding several players in trades leading up to the trade deadline, the Golden Knights needed some more cap space. To create that room in the short term, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed winger William Carrier and his $1.4MM AAV on LTIR. They’ve used some of that space immediately as they’ve recalled winger Brendan Brisson from AHL Henderson, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 29-year-old has missed the last two months with an upper-body injury that he underwent surgery for back in January. At the time he was given a designation of week-to-week so it appears that recovery from the injury has gone slower than anticipated. He joins Mark Stone and Robin Lehner as players currently on LTIR; newly-acquired center Tomas Hertl is out long-term term but is not on LTIR at the moment.
Carrier is a pending unrestricted free agent and missing this much time due to injury certainly isn’t going to help things if he makes it to the open market in July. Before getting hurt, Carrier had five goals and two assists along with 71 hits in 33 games while averaging 11L16 per night, his lowest ATOI since the 2020-21 campaign.
As for Brisson, it’s his sixth recall of the season and he has played well in limited action with the big club. Through 12 appearances so far, the 22-year-old has two goals and four assists while averaging 12:39 a night. He also has 13 goals and 15 assists in 42 games with the Silver Knights. With Vegas only having 11 healthy forwards on the active roster before his promotion, they should be able to classify this as an emergency recall, one that wouldn’t count against their post-deadline limit of four.
Golden Knights’ Mark Stone To Be Out “A While” With Injury
Star Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone will be “out for a while” per general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who shared the update with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy on the latest episode of The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test. McCrimmon added some good news, saying that Jack Eichel and William Carrier are nearing a return.
Stone suffered an apparent upper-body injury in the team’s Tuesday night game against the Nashville Predators, after receiving a big hit from Yakov Trenin. Trenin earned an interference penalty on the play. Stone’s injury is a tremendous loss for the Golden Knights. The 31-year-old winger currently leads the team in scoring, with 16 goals and 53 points through 56 games. It’s yet another successful season for Stone, who has totaled 256 points in 274 games since joining the Golden Knights in 2018-19. Unfortunately, productivity isn’t the only consistent for Stone – as he is yet again facing long-term injury in the second half of the season. Stone has had an upper-body injury hold him out from February to April in each of the last two seasons, earning a spot on injured reserve each time. Vegas will hope lightning doesn’t strike for a third time this season, with Stone so far remaining off of IR.
If Vegas does lose Stone, they’ll quickly turn their towards Jack Eichel, who has been out of action since January 11th with a knee injury. Eichel was moved to long-term injured reserve on Monday, though he has already missed the required amount of time and will be eligible to return as soon as he’s healthy. He has been Vegas’ most-productive scorer, operating as the only Golden Knight scoring above a point-per-game pace with 19 goals and 44 points through 42 games. Eichel has also been consistently limited by injury, with 67 games last season marking the most he’s played in one year since the 2019-20 campaign. He’ll have a chance to beat that mark by one game, with 26 games remaining on Vegas’ schedule, though he’d have to return on Thursday to maintain that pace.
Golden Knights Recall Grigori Denisenko
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Grigori Denisenko from the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL. The 23-year-old has appeared in 29 career NHL games split over four seasons, having also spent time with the Florida Panthers.
After suffering through a few injury-riddled seasons with the Panthers, the former 15th overall pick was claimed off waivers by Vegas on October 7th. He has been a solid AHL contributor thus far this season as he has posted 14 goals and 26 assists in 45 games, surpassing the 12 goals and 24 assists he registered last season in 56 games with the Charlotte Checkers.
Denisenko had an audition with the Golden Knights in early January as he spent a week in the NHL, dressing in three games and posting no points. He averaged 10:36 of ice time during that recall and had a decent showing at even strength as he took the bulk of his zone starts in the defensive zone and had decent underlying numbers.
The Golden Knights are currently without forwards Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, and William Carrier and could be in line for a move for a forward before the NHL trade deadline. Denisenko didn’t dress today against the San Jose Sharks and will likely serve as the team’s 13th forward for the time being. However, if he keeps up his AHL scoring numbers he could get a longer look in the NHL sooner than later.
West Notes: Pavelski, Golden Knights, Killorn, Kahkonen
On January 1st of this year, the Dallas Stars inked veteran forward, Joe Pavelski, to a one-year contract worth a total of $3.5MM. A notable decrease on the $7MM annually that Pavelski was earning in his first contract with Dallas, this new deal did include two performance bonuses worth a total of $1MM each.
Per CapFriendly, when Pavelski plays in his 10th game of the year, he will earn the first bonus, and he will earn the second bonus at 20 games played. Tonight, the Stars will take on the Vancouver Canucks, and if no lineup changes are made, Pavelski would be in line to secure the first $1MM performance bonus included in his contract.
Although typically a minor detail on most contracts, given that Dallas only has approximately $457K in cap space, this performance bonus earned by Pavelski will result in an overage penalty to the Stars, which will be applied to next year’s salary cap bottom line. Also, given his health and availability over the last three seasons with the Stars, the expectation is that Pavelski will make it to 20 games played, adding even more overage penalties to the Dallas organization next year.
Other notes:
- Before tonight’s heavily anticipated Western Conference matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights, Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that forward William Carrier would be a game-time decision for Vegas, and that defenseman Zach Whitecloud will be out for the remainder of the weekend. Placed on LTIR at the beginning of the season, Whitecloud has been dealing with an upper-body injury suffered during this year’s preseason but has returned to practice with the team over the last couple of days.
- Looking to make his debut with the Anaheim Ducks after signing a four-year, $25MM contract with the team this summer, Eric Stephens of The Athletic is reporting that Alex Killorn was seen practicing on a line with Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg, and will likely make his Ducks debut tomorrow night against the Golden Knights. In his absence, Anaheim has gotten off to a better start than most would have expected, climbing up in the standings thanks to a current five-game winning streak.
- As hinted at in last night’s recall of goaltender Magnus Chrona, Sheng Peng of NBC Sports is reporting that San Jose Sharks’ netminder, Kaapo Kahkonen is out with an upper-body injury, and is considered day-to-day. Although Chrona is only in his first year with an NHL organization, San Jose could benefit from another option in the crease, as both of their regular goaltenders have failed to hold a SV% above .900 in the team’s first 10 games of the season.
Pacific Notes: Carrier, Martinez, Vlasic, Carlsson, Soucy/Friedman
Golden Knights forward William Carrier will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Stars, head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed today. Carrier, 28, missed Vegas’ last two games with an upper-body injury.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are picking up where they left off, receiving spectacular goaltending from Adin Hill and Logan Thompson en route to a 3-0-0 record and league-high +9 goal differential. Carrier hasn’t been a part of that, however – he played just over five minutes in the season opener against Seattle before leaving with the UBI and sitting out their following two wins against San Jose and Anaheim. He’s entering the final season of a four-year, $5.6MM contract that’s paid dividends for the Knights. Carrier has become one of the more dependable fourth-liners in the league since Vegas claimed him in the 2017 Expansion Draft, and he’s now played well over 300 games as a Knight. He posted a career-high 16 goals and 25 points last season and added six points in 18 postseason contests, playing a crucial depth role en route to the team’s first Stanley Cup win.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Cassidy also said defenseman Alec Martinez practiced in a non-contact jersey today and will travel with the team on their upcoming road swing through Winnipeg and Chicago. The 36-year-old defender has been day-to-day with an upper-body injury since the beginning of the month and has remained on injured reserve since the season began one week ago. Entering the final season of a three-year deal earning him $5.25MM per season, the veteran of 763 NHL games was arguably Vegas’ most important shutdown defender last season, posting a team-high +30 rating and blocking 244 shots – the most in the NHL by far. His absence has meant increased ice time for the younger Nicolas Hague, who’s stepped up to the plate with three points in three games while averaging 21:20 per game.
- Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic practiced with the team this morning but is not expected to suit up Tuesday night against the Hurricanes, The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports. Vlasic did not play the final two periods of the Sharks’ shootout loss at the hands of the Avalanche Saturday and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. 22-year-old Henry Thrun will step into Vlasic’s place on the Sharks’ second pairing alongside Matt Benning after the former was scratched against Colorado.
- 2023 second-overall pick Leo Carlsson has returned to practice for the Ducks after missing the first two games of the season with a leg injury, writes Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Carlsson told The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee Tuesday that he wants “to be 100% [for] the first game,” of course referring to his first NHL appearance. He hopes to be ready for the Ducks’ next game, a Thursday showdown against the Stars. Carlsson is currently on season-opening injured reserve but can be activated at any time.
- Tuesday’s trade acquisition Mark Friedman will join the Vancouver Canucks on their upcoming road trip, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. His recall likely spells the end of 24-year-old Akito Hirose‘s time on the NHL roster, as he does not require waivers to return to AHL Abbotsford, and Vancouver is now carrying eight healthy defensemen on the roster with Carson Soucy now expected to make his season debut today against the Flyers. Friedman has appeared in two games thus far in 2023-24, both with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recording no points and a -1 rating.
Pacific Injury Notes: Vlasic, Vegas, Vancouver
William Carrier was spotted in a no-contact jersey at Vegas’ Monday practice, taking reps in his usual fourth-line role. He’s been announced as a game-time decision for the team’s next game. Of note, fellow Golden Knight Alex Pietrangelo was absent from the practice. Pietrangelo had a scary moment in the team’s Thursday night game against the San Jose Sharks when a high hit from Nicolas Hague left the defender bloodied.
Pietrangelo missed the team’s subsequent game and was announced as day-to-day, although the exact nature of the injury wasn’t disclosed. It appears he’s still grappling with this ailment as the team prepares for their October 17th game. Pietrangelo has recorded one point through two appearances so far this season. Kaedan Korczak stepped in for the injured Pietrangelo, playing in 14 minutes in the alternate captain’s absence.
Vegas has also sent Jonas Rondbjerg to the AHL, now that Brett Howden‘s suspension has expired.
Other Pacific Division injury notes:
- Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News has shared that defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic won’t play in the team’s Tuesday night matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. Vlasic missed the team’s Monday morning practice, after sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period of the Sharks’ Saturday night game against the Colorado Avalanche. Vlasic scored 18 points in 78 games for the Sharks during the 2022-23 season, his 17th season with the club.
- Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet shared optimism on Ilya Mikheyev‘s injury, saying there’s a chance he will play on the team’s upcoming four-game road trip. Tocchet also shared that Carson Soucy will be a game-time decision for the team’s upcoming match against the Flyers.
Injury Notes: Bergeron, Carrier, Lomberg
Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron will make his 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff debut in Game 5, according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. The 37-year-old veteran center missed the first four games of the series with an undisclosed injury that was suffered in the Bruins final game of the regular season. The Bruins have held their own without an important piece of their lineup, as they have a 3-1 lead in the series and will look to eliminate the Florida Panthers and be the first team to advance to the second round.
Bergeron scored 27 goals and 58 points in 78 regular season games and is among the best defensive forwards to ever play the game. The Bruins are without center David Krejci, so having Bergeron return fills a huge hole down the middle of the lineup. After winning 65 regular season games, the Bruins are hoping to go on a long playoff run. A healthy Bergeron would go a long way in helping them in their quest for a Stanley Cup this spring.
- Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports William Carrier is fully healthy and once again a full participant at practice for the Vegas Golden Knights. Carrier has not played since March 3 due to a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old winger scored 16 goals and 25 points in 56 regular season games for the Golden Knights, giving them scoring from a depth position in their lineup. Carrier will be an option in Game 5 as Vegas looks to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets.
- Ryan Lomberg will not play Game 5 for the Florida Panthers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Lomberg has played an effective forechecking style using his speed and toughness to win puck battles, though he has been held pointless in the series thus far. The 28 year old had 12 goals and 20 points for the Panthers while playing every regular season game so it is unusual to see him out of the lineup. No official update was given, but Lomberg was hit hard in the face with a cross check in Game 4.
Pacific Notes: Sharks Goalies, Labanc, Carrier
Despite benefitting from a historic offensive performance from number-one defenseman Erik Karlsson and strong production from Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, the San Jose Sharks finished the 2022-23 season with the NHL’s fourth-worst record. Their 22-44-16 record in the first year of their David Quinn era put them in a prime position for next month’s draft lottery, but not exactly in a place to help their veteran players win a Stanley Cup. A significant factor contributing to the Sharks’ struggles this season was their goaltending, as neither of their regular netminders posted above an .890 save percentage.
Sharks fans, then, might be pleased to hear word from general manager Mike Grier, via The Athletic’s Corey Masisiak, that the team does not plan on bringing the same goalie tandem (James Reimer and Kaapo Kahkonen) into next season. Reimer, 35, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, while Kahkonen has another year left on his deal at a $2.75MM cap hit. Finding an experienced, capable partner for Kahkonen (.883 save percentage in 37 games) could be one of Grier’s top priorities for the summer.
Other Pacific Division notes:
- Another Shark whose status is uncertain heading into the summer is winger Kevin Labanc, who scored 15 goals and 33 points this season and is making $4.75MM against the cap next season. Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka relays comments from Grier on Labanc’s future, with Grier saying “I can’t say whether he’ll be here. We’ll see what happens in the summer and what presents itself.” Labanc’s production has declined sharply since his 56-point 2018-19 season, and it’s worth noting that the Sharks could save nearly $4MM against the cap by buying out Labanc this summer, at the cost of nearly $2MM against the cap in 2024-25.
- Vegas Golden Knights winger William Carrier was a surprise performer this season, flying past career highs to score 16 goals and 25 points in just 56 games. The 28-year-old has been with the Golden Knights since the franchise’s expansion draft and is under contract for $1.4MM through next season. He hasn’t played since a March 3rd contest against the New Jersey Devils, but thankfully for Vegas he could be nearing a return. Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy told the media, including The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, that Carrier could return during the first round against the Winnipeg Jets. That would be a significant addition to Vegas’ bottom six and would add some useful depth goal-scoring to an organization hoping to make another deep playoff run.
West Notes: Coyotes, Carrier, Duhaime
The Arizona Coyotes made one of the biggest deals of the season when they sent defenseman Jakob Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators for a trio of draft picks. The Coyotes will receive a first-round pick in 2023 and a pair of future second-round picks. While the initial ask was certainly higher, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong explained his thought process to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports.
Armstrong stated he valued the Senators first-round pick higher than most other teams next two first-round picks. The Senators are fighting for a playoff spot, but are on the outside looking in and have to leapfrog a handful of teams down the stretch to get in. If they miss, the Coyotes are guaranteed a top-16 pick which, paired with two future second-round picks, has more value than two first-round picks that would be closer to 30th overall. Armstrong said he believes this pick will be somewhere between 6-18 in a deep 2023 draft, and that was ultimately why he pulled the trigger on the Chychrun trade.
- Per a team release, the Vegas Golden Knights will be without William Carrier for the foreseeable future. He is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury after leaving the Golden Knights 4-3 shootout win in the first period. Carrier is having a productive season with 16 goals and 25 points in 56 games but now joins Mark Stone, Nolan Patrick, Robin Lehner, Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit on the sidelines in Vegas.
- Minnesota Wild winger Brandon Duhaime won’t play today due to injury according to Joe Smith of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). He will be re-evaluated when the team returns from their trip after tonight’s contest in Calgary. The 25-year-old has seven goals and an assist in 39 games so far.
Vegas Golden Knights Activate Shea Theodore, William Carrier
The Vegas Golden Knights have gotten some extremely encouraging news. Defenseman Shea Theodore and forward William Carrier have been activated off of injured reserve. Carrier has been out since January 14th, while Theodore last played in early December.
The news comes as the Golden Knights prepare to take on a formidable New York Rangers team. Theodore’s return gives the Golden Knights’ blueline a major boost. It’s been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks, and the return of Theodore will help take some of the pressure off of the defenders currently eating minutes for coach Bruce Cassidy.
When healthy, Theodore is the Golden Knights’ number-two defenseman behind Alex Pietrangelo. He has 22 points in 29 games this season and averages nearly 22 minutes per night. As The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reported, he’ll slot in next to Brayden McNabb on the team’s bottom pairing, while Kaedan Korczak will exit the lineup.
With Theodore back in the mix, the Golden Knights’ stable of blueliners is transformed into one of the stronger units in the NHL, and his addition will be a major help as the team looks to take the first-place spot in the Pacific Division from the Seattle Kraken.
While the addition of Carrier back into the Golden Knights’ lineup will come with less fanfare, it is a significant one nonetheless. The energetic winger, who was a member of the original Golden Knights squad from their expansion season, is in the midst of a bit of a breakout campaign. He’s already scored 11 goals this season and will slot in nicely next to Chandler Stephenson and Phil Kessel on the team’s third line.
The return to the lineup comes at an important time for Carrier, as he’s looking to sustain his hot goal-scoring touch. If he can find a way to reach the 20-goal plateau, he’ll set himself up nicely for when his current $1.4MM AAV contract expires at the end of next season.