Atlantic Notes: Coyle, Pastrnak, Stamkos, Paquette, Hyman
After an inconclusive COVID-19 test and being forced to sit out Saturday’s practice, Boston Bruins’ Charlie Coyle looks like he will be fine. The forward followed the inconclusive test with a negative test, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) upon talking to Coyle’s agent, Bob Norton. The team is not expected to practice Sunday, yet several players who didn’t practice Saturday did skate today, which includes Coyle, according to NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty.
Coyle was one of nine players who were not permitted to practice Saturday, including Coyle’s linemates, Sean Kuraly and Nick Ritchie. David Pastrnak, Ondrej Kase, David Krejci, Chris Wagner, Torey Krug and goaltender Tuukka Rask. Coyle had a solid season in Boston with 16 goals and 37 points.
General manager Don Sweeney did say the team hopes to get Pastrnak back on the ice with the team soon. He hasn’t practiced so far and was seen practicing with Kase with non-NHLers at a suburban rink, but Sweeney said both players were still under Phase 2 and were able to train on their own.
- Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos was on the ice for a full practice for a second straight day after undergoing core muscle surgery on March 3. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that it’s a good sign that he is back out for a second straight day as it suggests that he’s close to being deemed healthy and ready to go for the upcoming tournament. The 30-year-old Stamkos had 29 goals and 66 points in 57 games before going down with the injury.
- Sticking with the Lightning, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns notes that forward Cedric Paquette, who was out both Friday and Saturday, was still not with the main group in practice Sunday, but did skate in the morning session. The team will not release any information on his health due to the NHL’s new injury update policy. He also reports that center Mitchell Stephens also skated this morning, but didn’t join the main group.
- TSN’s Kristen Shilton reports that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman was back in practice Sunday after missing Saturday’s training camp activities. Hyman was forced to leave Friday’s practice session after taking a shot off his leg. The 28-year-old tied his career high with 21 goals, but in 20 less games from last season.
Nominees Announced For 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2019.
Past winners of the award include Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014) and Josh Harding (2013).
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Miller
Arizona Coyotes – Conor Garland
Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller
Buffalo Sabres – Curtis Lazar
Calgary Flames – Mark Giordano
Carolina Hurricanes – James Reimer
Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford
Colorado Avalanche – Ryan Graves
Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Gerbe
Dallas Stars – Stephen Johns
Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri
Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid
Florida Panthers – Noel Acciari
Los Angeles Kings – Jonathan Quick
Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
Montreal Canadiens – Shea Weber
Nashville Predators – Jarred Tinordi
New Jersey Devils – Travis Zajac
New York Islanders – Thomas Hickey
New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist
Ottawa Senators – Bobby Ryan
Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom
Pittsburgh Penguins – Evgeni Malkin
San Jose Sharks – Joe Thornton
St. Louis Blues – Jay Bouwmeester
Toronto Maple Leafs – Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks – Jacob Markstrom
Vegas Golden Knights – Shea Theodore
Washington Capitals – Michal Kempny
Winnipeg Jets – Mark Letestu
Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.
Zach Hyman Hopes To Stay In Toronto Long-Term
The Toronto Maple Leafs, perhaps more than many other teams, could be in trouble thanks to a stagnant or even declining salary cap next season. Depending on what happens with the playoffs this year and how the NHL and NHLPA decide to go about things, a team like Toronto that has so much money tied up in their core forwards could be looking to cut costs on the fringes of the roster. Moving forward, re-signing other players may be even more difficult, especially if they are performing well enough to deserve a raise.
Enter Zach Hyman, the hometown boy who is on a contract that ends after the 2020-21 season. Hyman signed a four-year, $9MM deal in the summer of 2017 after his first full season in the NHL. He had scored just 10 goals and 28 points that year but quickly become a fan and Mike Babcock favorite thanks to his tireless work ethic and impressive forechecking ability. That four-year deal has paid off in spades for the Maple Leafs, as Hyman jumped up to 40 points in his second full season, 21 goals in his third and had already scored 21 in just 51 games this year.
That pace was good enough for 33 goals over a full 82-game season, quite the performance for a player earning just $2.25MM against the cap. It’s also a player that the Maple Leafs would obviously be interested in bringing back, especially since he will be only 29 when his current deal expires.
If the team does want to extend the bang-and-crash winger, he’s open to it. On a conference call with reporters today including Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com, Hyman explained that he would “love to stay in Toronto” and would “love to be a long-time Leaf.”
That should come as no surprise, given Hyman’s roots in the city, but it also will instantly perk up fan’s ears in hopes of a “hometown discount.” A 30-goal winger (if he ever gets there) with Hyman’s kind of penalty-killing prowess would go for a lot more than $2.25MM per season on the open market, a number that the Maple Leafs may not be able to afford if they have any plans on investing more into their defensive group, or re-signing Frederik Andersen beyond the 2020-21 campaign.
Even if that contract negotiation is a little down the road, Hyman had other good news for Maple Leafs’ fans. The suspended season has given him even more time to rest a knee that needed ACL surgery last summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Toronto Notes: Hyman, Marner, Goaltending
The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to get Zach Hyman back in the lineup tomorrow night against the New York Islanders, a welcome sight for a team struggling to find their identity this season. While the Maple Leafs have scored 64 goals this season, good for third in the NHL, they’ve also allowed 62. Hyman will bring an aspect of forechecking that has been sorely missing, while also giving them another prime penalty killing option. The 27-year old forward is coming off major knee surgery however, and may take some time getting up to speed. He scored 21 goals and 41 points last season but has yet to play in 2019-20.
More notes regarding the Maple Leafs:
- Hyman will start on a line with John Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen, thanks to the absence of Mitch Marner from the team for at least a month. Marner confirmed to reporters including Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press that he suffered a high-ankle sprain in Saturday’s game. The team had previously announced that he will be re-evaluated in four weeks, but high-ankle sprains are notorious for causing lingering issues for professional athletes.
- Meanwhile, the team is also trying to figure out their backup goaltending situation after waiving Michael Hutchinson yesterday. Head coach Mike Babcock explained to reporters including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that the team didn’t play well enough ahead of Hutchinson, but that the plan to start the backup in the second half of back-to-back situations will continue. That would suggest that Kasimir Kaskisuo will make his NHL debut this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, unless the team finds a different option before then.
Maple Leafs Expected To Waive Jason Spezza
The Jason Spezza era in Toronto could be over as soon as it began. With Zach Hyman set to return from injury, the consensus from media members around the league, such as TSN’s Shawn Simpson, is that Spezza will be the odd man out for the Maple Leafs. The respected veteran centerman had plenty of suitors this off-season, but opted to take a hometown discount to suit up for the Leafs. However, his opportunities with Toronto have been limited by head coach Mike Babcock and it is now expected that Spezza could be on his way to the waiver wire and then off to another NHL team or down to the minors.
For whatever reason, Babcock has not seen Spezza as a valuable piece of his roster so far this season. While GM Kyle Dubas and company likely saw the former perennial 50+ point scorer as a potential bargain at the $700K minimum contract they signed him to, he has been unable to maximize that value. Babcock has been hesitant to give Spezza the opportunity to make the most of his affordable contract. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston states that it was apparent all the way back in training camp that Babcock wasn’t enthused by Spezza’s addition and didn’t see a particular fit for him in the lineup. Granted, Spezza is not exactly an ideal fourth-line center, but surely the team could find a way to use the former All-Star, right? In fact, only the injury issues with John Tavares have allowed Spezza to make regular appearances – although he has been a healthy scratch frequently as well – but even in those games his ice time has been limited to a career-low 11:06 ATOI. Spezza has still managed four points in nine games and has an impressive 57.3% Corsi, but nothing he has done has seemed to change Babcock’s mind as to his role on the team, likely forcing management’s hand when it comes to waiving him upon activating Hyman.
Spezza, a veteran of more than 1000 NHL games, stands a very good chance of being claimed on waivers. The Maple Leafs were far from the only team to pursue the capable pivot this summer and that interest has likely only risen given his minimal cap hit and the pressure that many teams are facing to add talent in the face of a salary cap crunch or injury crisis. While Spezza is no longer the top scorer he once was, he did produce nearly 30 points in each of his final two seasons with the Dallas Stars despite noticeable regression and could do so with another club. Spezza’s face-off numbers are down this season and he seems to have lost a step in his skating, but otherwise he still plays a complete, two-way game. On top of that, he brings invaluable experience and locker room leadership to any team.
The one club that sticks out as a possible landing spot is of course the Ottawa Senators. The team with which Spezza has spent most of his career, the Senators were one of his most aggressive suitors this summer and their young squad could certainly benefit from his veteran presence. GM Pierre Dorion has made it known that he is looking to make an addition up front and may be able to do so without parting with trade capital by simply claiming Spezza. His minimal cost would also be attractive to a team that often seems allergic to spending. Both Simpson and The Ottawa Sun’s Don Brennan see Spezza as an ideal fit in Ottawa as a mentor and a player who can contribute throughout the lineup. While Spezza signed in Toronto this summer to return to his hometown, a reunion with the Senators would truly be a homecoming for the former face of the franchise.
Atlantic Notes: Hyman, Bobrovsky, Hainsey
Zach Hyman has never been fully appreciated by Toronto fans over the years, but the forward, who has sat out all season so far after undergoing offseason knee surgery this summer, has been strangely missed as the Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled out of the gate.
A favorite of head coach Mike Babcock due to his work ethic and attitude, Hyman is close to returning with many believing he might be ready to return this weekend. That hasn’t happened, but the winger believes he’ll be ready soon, according to The Star’s Kevin McGran. Hyman is traveling with the team, but there is no word on when he might be activated.
“Honestly, it’s not my decision,” he says. “I mean, I have a say in it, but we have a great medical staff, great therapists, great strength coaches, great doctors where you don’t make a decision by yourself.”
- Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes that despite the slow start of Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, head coach Joel Quenneville isn’t worried about the two-time Vezina Trophy winner. Bobrovsky, who signed a seven-year, $70MM contract this summer with Florida, hasn’t been too impressive in his first 11 appearances with the Panthers, posting a 5-2-3 record with a 3.71 GAA and a .873 save percentage, numbers that are second-to-last among goalies who have appeared in at least eight games. “I think the way we’re playing, he’s getting comfortable in how we play in front of him,” Quenneville said. “I think eventually the goals against is something we can improve as a group of defenseman in our team game. I think the second opportunities, whether we take more responsibility in that area, we can clean that up and help him.”
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that while the Ottawa Senators brought in defenseman Ron Hainsey over from Toronto this summer in free agency to fill a veteran defensive void in their lineup, there was a secondary reason as well. The scribe writes that one major benefit of having Hainsey around is having him mentor top prospect Erik Brannstrom in his rookie campaign. Hainsey has been paired with Brannstrom since the first day of training camp and the two have stayed together almost exclusively. “There’s been a lot of information thrown at him in a short amount of time in the (six weeks) since we went to training camp to now,” Hainsey said before facing the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at TD Garden. “In some situations in the game, it’s easy, it’s like, ‘Hey, maybe we should try to do it this way.’ Other times, it’s better for me to be quiet and let him go about his way. He’s got plenty of people and coaches giving him stuff 24/7 and it’s a lot for a young player to take in when you’re playing against the best players in the world. It’s not like we’ve been matched against the top guys, but we’ve been out against everybody at some point.”
Injury Updates: Golden Knights, Sekera, Red Wings, Hyman
The Golden Knights received some good news and bad news on the injury front on Monday. David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes (Twitter link) that winger Alex Tuch, defenseman Nate Schmidt, and goalie Malcolm Subban were all full participants in practice today. Tuch has missed all of the season with an upper-body injury, Schmidt has missed 12 straight games with a lower-body issue, and Subban has been out since October 10th due to a lower-body injury. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll all be ready to play in their next game on Thursday, it’s certainly a good sign that their returns are approaching.
However, as they near a return, defenseman Deryk Engelland is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Schoen mentions in a separate tweet. Including Engelland, the Golden Knights are only carrying five healthy defensemen on the roster at the moment (with Schmidt on IR) so it’s likely that they will have to summon someone from AHL Chicago later this week.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- The Stars will be without defenseman Andrej Sekera for their game tomorrow against Minnesota, reports Sean Shapiro of The Athletic (Twitter link). He has not been ruled out for the weekend so his undisclosed injury appears to be a minor one. With seven defensemen on the roster, Dallas doesn’t necessarily have to make a recall although they could dip into Martin Hanzal’s LTIR opening if they wanted to have an extra blueliner available.
- Red Wings winger Adam Erne is close to returning from his upper-body injury and could suit up on Tuesday night, notes Dana Wakiji on Detroit’s team website. He has missed four straight games and five of the last six with the issue. Meanwhile, winger Justin Abdelkader participated in practice after missing two straight with a lower-body issue but head coach Jeff Blashill indicated that he might not be ready to return for that game.
- While the Maple Leafs will activate defenseman Travis Dermott off LTIR for Tuesday’s game against Washington, winger Zach Hyman hasn’t been cleared to return and could still be a week or two away from playing, suggests TSN’s Kristen Shilton (Twitter link). Toronto will have to clear up some cap room to activate Dermott and will have to free up even more space to bring his $2.25MM AAV back onto the books.
Snapshots: Djoos, Seattle, Hyman, Oilers
The one-year, $1.25MM contract that Capitals defenseman Christian Djoos received from an arbitrator came in a little higher than the team hoped given their current salary cap situation. That has led some to speculate that Washington may look to move the blueliner but NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan cautions that it’s an unlikely scenario. The 24-year-old is coming off of a tough injury-plagued season so his trade value isn’t particularly high at the moment. If the Caps decide to try to waive Djoos to bury most of that contract in the minors (something they might do with recently re-signed center Chandler Stephenson), any interested team may simply wait to pick him up for free over parting with a negligible asset to get him.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- With Seattle now having their GM in place in Ron Francis, the focus has shifted back towards what the team name will be. Francis told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that the hope is to have that in place by early next year while also mentioning that they’ve received no shortage of interest from people looking to work for the expansion franchise. While they don’t begin playing until the 2021-22 season and won’t be able to draft anyone until 2021, Francis has already started his scouting duties at the ongoing World Junior Summer Showcase.
- Maple Leafs winger Zach Hyman told the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan that his recovery from ACL surgery is going well but stopped short of suggesting he’d be ready to go by training camp. He underwent the procedure in late April and it carries a typical six month recovery period. Even if he winds up recovering ahead of schedule, the prudent move may be for them to still have him start the season on injured reserve to be on the safe side.
- The Oilers are expected to invite undrafted prospect Jaxon Bellamy to their upcoming rookie camp, notes Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal. The 18-year-old spent last season with Sherbrooke of the QMJHL, recording 16 points and 48 penalty minutes in 60 games.
John Tavares Out One Month With Oblique Strain
It’s already been a difficult off-season on the injury front for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will likely not have Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott when the 2019-20 season begins following recent surgeries. So, when it was announced on Thursday that star John Tavares had suffered an injury and was forced to abandon Team Canada and the IIHF World Championships, Toronto fans were understandably worried that the team could be down another man long-term. However, that won’t be the case. The Leafs followed up on the news with an update today that Tavares suffered an oblique injury and will be out approximately one month, after which he is expected to resume his normal off-season training program.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman echoes the Leafs’ announcement, reporting that the he has heard it was an oblique strain that will require a rehab period of about four weeks. However, Friedman adds that after four weeks it is likely that Tavares will have made a “full recovery”. While the injury may cut into his preparation for next season somewhat, Tavares should be back on track by mid-June at the latest and will have more than two full months of his regular training regiment. As such, there is no concern that Tavares will be feeling any ill effects of the oblique strain by the time training camp rolls around and barring another injury will be at full strength to begin the year.
Tavares, who notched a career-high 47 goals this season while playing in every game for Toronto, is obviously a key part of a successful 2019-20 campaign for the team. However, his full health and maximum effort may be even more important next season. Beyond the injuries to Hyman and Dermott, a knee and shoulder respectively, that will keep them out likely through at least the first month of the season, several other departures could be in store for the Maple Leafs this summer. Mitch Marner, the only Leaf to outscore Tavares this season, Kasperi Kapanen, and Andreas Johnsson are all restricted free agents and Toronto will find it next to impossible to re-sign all three without trading away another core forward. The defense is also set to undergo an overhaul this summer, whether it works in their favor or not. One way or another, there will be slack to pick up next season and a healthy Tavares and his elite two-way game will go a long way to getting off to a good start.
Toronto’s Zach Hyman Out Six Months Following ACL Surgery
April 29: Hyman’s surgery was successful and he will now begin his long process of rehabilitation and recovery.
April 26: Everyone is injured to some degree if they’re still playing at this time of year, but every postseason there are a handful of unbelievable injuries that some NHLers are able to play through. The first such case in 2019 has come to light, as the Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that Zach Hyman suffered a torn ACL in his knee during the team’s first round series against the Boston Bruins. Hyman is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday, after which the timeline for his recovery is at least six months. His status for the start of the regular season is very much in doubt.
Hyman limped off the ice not once, not twice, but three times over the course of the Maple Leafs’ hard-fought seven games against the Bruins, but Hyman himself claims the injury occurred in Game Four of the series. Yet, Hyman continued to play for three more games, seemingly without a hitch. He averaged 18:07 average time on ice in the series, fourth-most among Toronto forwards, and recorded a goal and 25 hits. The skilled two-way forward played his role as best he could and Hyman is one of the few Leafs who have avoided a share of the blame pie since the team was eliminated. One can only imagine the pain that Hyman had to endure to continue playing on a torn ACL, which should only gain him further favor with the Toronto faithful.
However, the team must now consider that Hyman will almost certainly miss training camp and possibly weeks or months of the regular season while he recovers. The 26-year-old winger is coming off of a career year offensively and that production, as well as his gritty style, will need to be replaced early on. Hyman’s $2.25MM cap hit will likely be off the books to begin the year, which should help the Leafs slightly with their cap crunch, but how the team will go about using their small amount of cap space while also properly accounting for Hyman’s potential absence will be something to watch for as Toronto shakes things up this summer.