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Snapshots: Three Stars, Krejci, Stevenson

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Connor McDavid taking the top spot. The Edmonton Oilers superstar had eight points which, incredibly, all came on goals that either tied the game or gave his team the lead. McDavid seems poised to win the Art Ross once again as the league’s top scorer, and the Rocket Richard is now well within his reach after such an outstanding start.

Second and third went to Jesper Bratt and Marc-Andre Fleury respectively, after their own strong performances. Bratt continues to be one of the most underrated offensive players in the league and now has 15 points in nine games this season. Fleury, meanwhile, rebounded from an iffy start and had a .927 in three appearances last week. His numbers aren’t very inspiring, but Fleury has gone 4-1-1 to start the year.

  • Boston Bruins forward David Krejci will miss at least the next few days with an upper-body injury. He now appears on the Bruins injured reserve list, meaning he’ll miss seven days since his last game. Still, head coach Jim Montgomery said that his veteran center will be traveling with the club and shouldn’t be out too long.
  • The Washington Capitals have assigned Clay Stevenson to the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, suggesting he has recovered enough to start getting back into game action. The 23-year-old was a free agent signing out of Dartmouth and underwent hand surgery at the beginning of October. Given a timeline of four to six weeks from then, his recovery seems to be right on track.

Snapshots: Sharks, Domi, Bruins

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It appears that the Sharks have determined their list of untouchables and it’s a pretty small one.  In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that San Jose’s list of players that they’re not open to considering trading starts and ends with Tomas Hertl who is just beginning an eight-year, $65.1MM contract.  GM Mike Grier made one notable shakeup trade last summer with the move of Brent Burns to Carolina and will certainly be looking to continue to reshape his roster.  As we start to see a bit of trade activity around the league, the Sharks could be a team to watch for over the next little while on that front.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • While Max Domi joined the Blackhawks early in free agency on a one-year deal, it appears as if that wasn’t his original preference. In his latest column for the Toronto Star, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports that Domi’s camp had approached the Maple Leafs to gauge their interest in a one-year deal at a significantly lower price than the $3MM he received from Chicago.  Obviously, Toronto opted to go in a different direction, adding Nicolas Aube-Kubel on the opening day of free agency and Calle Jarnkrok two days later as forwards signing for more than the minimum.
  • Bruins GM Don Sweeney met with the media (video link) on Thursday following their trade with Vancouver. Sweeney acknowledged that discussions with winger David Pastrnak about a contract extension continue on a regular basis but that they have not yet “found the endpoint”.  The 26-year-old is off to a hot start with 15 points in eight games to start the season and is set to land a significant raise on his current $6.667MM AAV, one that could push his cap hit near or past the $10MM mark.
  • Sweeney also indicated that they’ve not yet worked out where they will send goaltender Michael DiPietro who was acquired in yesterday’s swap. They have two netminders with AHL Providence already – Keith Kinkaid and Kyle Keyser – while they have Brandon Bussi at the ECHL level as well.  As DiPietro is past his entry-level contract, he has the ability to block an assignment to the ECHL.  Speculatively, if DiPietro wants to stay in the AHL, a short-term loan to another AHL squad could be a possible outcome with Sweeney suggesting they have a couple of options in the works for their new goalie at the moment.

Snapshots: Gronborg, Heiskanen, Talbot

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One of the names that used to come up every summer in connection to vacant NHL coaching jobs is Rikard Gronborg, former long-time coach of the Swedish national team programs. Gronborg has plenty of experience on this side of the ocean, after playing college hockey at St. Cloud State, coaching in the AWHL, and serving as an assistant in the WHL. For the last few years, his candidacy hasn’t been brought up for a while because of his commitment as head coach of the ZSC Lions in Switzerland, one of the most successful and popular teams in Europe.

Today, news has broken that Gronborg won’t be back with the Lions and instead is likely taking a multi-year contract with Tappara Tampere in Finland. However, the report out of Switzerland also states that if the NHL were to come calling, Gronborg’s new contract with Tappara has an out clause to let him pursue a North American opportunity. With seven World Championship medals, six World Juniors medals, and an Olympic silver, Gronborg has one of the most impressive international coaching resumes of all time. Whether that ever translates into an opportunity in the NHL remains to be seen.

  • Miro Heiskanen is still listed as day-to-day for the Dallas Stars and isn’t expected to play tonight, he could be back on Saturday according to head coach Pete DeBoer, who spoke with reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. Without Heiskanen in the lineup against the Boston Bruins, Nils Lundkvist played a career-high 22:04. Lundkvist had never gone above 16:39 with the New York Rangers but has now matched or exceeded that in six of seven games with Dallas.
  • Cam Talbot might be back ahead of schedule, according to Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith. As Claire Hanna of TSN reports, Talbot was on the ice facing shots today and is “certainly ahead of the timeline” that had been set for him. There’s still no clear date set for his return but they could still use him, with Anton Forsberg dealing with a minor injury of his own. On that front, Forsberg was back at practice as well and is expected to be the starter when the team takes on the Minnesota Wild tonight.

Snapshots: Marchand, Wiesblatt, Marlies

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There was plenty of excitement around the Boston Bruins when Brad Marchand took reps on the first line and powerplay this morning, even leading the team stretch. But the star winger isn’t going to be coming back just yet.

The Bruins will still play it a little slow with Marchand, and while he is ahead of schedule, isn’t getting into the lineup just yet. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic that the Bruins expect Marchand to play before Thanksgiving, his original timeline.

  • NHL fans may remember a touching moment at the 2020 draft when the San Jose Sharks revealed their selection of Ozzy Wiesblatt with a bit of sign language so that his mother – who is deaf – could be in on the announcement. Now, after two additional seasons in the WHL Wiesblatt will be starting his professional hockey journey with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. He was assigned there today.
  • While the focus for the Toronto Maple Leafs the last couple of days has been on the health of Jake Muzzin, who was placed on long-term injured reserve, two other defensemen are getting closer to a return. Timothy Liljegren and Jordie Benn were both loaned to the Toronto Marlies on conditioning stints. Mikhail Abramov who started the year on season-opening injured reserve was also assigned to the AHL club.

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Gurianov, Kessel

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin taking the top spot. While he was good through the first few years of his career, Dahlin has really taken another step under Sabres head coach Don Granato. Last season he set career highs with 13 goals and 53 points, and he’s off to an incredible start this year with five goals and eight points in five games. Dahlin became the first defenseman in NHL history to score in the first four games of a season and then broke his own record by scoring again on Saturday night.

Brady Tkachuk and MacKenzie Blackwood take home the second and third spots, after having their own impressive weeks. Blackwood’s was especially impressive because of the poor start that the New Jersey Devils goaltenders got off to. In three starts, Blackwood posted a .932 save percentage and silenced some of the chatter over the future of head coach Lindy Ruff. Tkachuk, meanwhile, had seven points in three games, recording at least two in each contest.

  • Denis Gurianov figures to be a healthy scratch when the Dallas Stars take on Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators tonight, as his inconsistencies have once again pushed him out of the lineup. Head coach Peter DeBoer spoke with Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News, explaining that Gurianov is “not a young player anymore” and will be held to the consistency standard that other veterans are expected to maintain. The 25-year-old Gurianov doesn’t have a point through his first five contests.
  • Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel will tie the NHL consecutive games streak tonight, when he takes on his old club the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran forward will play his 989th straight game, matching the record set by Keith Yandle. The last time Kessel missed a game was his first year with the Maple Leafs, back in 2009-10. He is also just 43 points away from 1,000 for his career.

Snapshots: Bear, Norris, Danforth, Australia

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On the topic of young defensemen expected to be dealt, it’s Jakob Chychrun’s name that comes up more times than not and given his talent, that’s not unfair. However, another young defenseman that could be dealt is that of  Carolina Hurricanes blueliner Ethan Bear. Perhaps not the talent Chychrun is, Bear is a solid player in his own right, but has had his share of issues in regards to getting in the lineup and overall playing time since the Hurricanes acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers for forward Warren Foegele in the summer of 2021.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on tonight’s 32 Thoughts segment of Hockey Night in Canada, a decision on Bear could be coming soon. Bear, who hasn’t played a game yet this season, wants to play, says Friedman, but the team has been unable to find a trade they like. According to Friedman, interested teams have asked Carolina to retain a certain percentage of Bear’s salary cap in order to create a trade package to the Hurricanes’ liking. Carolina, in turn, has told teams that they don’t plan to retain any cap given the fact that their reason for dealing Bear would not be at all cap related. Ultimately, as relayed by Friedman, the situation is expected to resolve itself shortly. It would seem at this point, if Carolina cannot get a better offer for the defenseman, their options would be to accept an offer they think is under-valued, put Bear on waivers, play him, or continue to scratch him, potentially doing harm to the relationship.

  • Earlier this afternoon, Ottawa Senators forward Joshua Norris left their game against the Arizona Coyotes after appearing to injure his arm off the faceoff. Norris immediately left the ice in pain and appeared to throw his stick in the hallway. After the game, no update was offered on the injury itself, and that is still the case this evening. However, Friedman did say on 32 Thoughts that the plan was for Norris to have an MRI once the swelling in his arm went down. No update thus far could be seen as a bit concerning, but an MRI should give more clear results and lead to a timeline once complete.
  • Also on the injury front, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth left tonight’s game with an upper-body injury and will not return, the team announced. What exactly the nature of the injury is remains unclear; Danforth had played regular shifts throughout the first period, but did not return for the second period. The forward had three points in five games coming into tonight.
  • An interesting note on international NHL showcases was brought up tonight on 32 Thoughts. It appears the league is exploring the possibility of playing games in Australia, perhaps as soon as sometime next season. The league plans to have a site survey shortly and would like to have a few games there if possible. Although the league has greatly expanded its outreach into international markets, heading to Australia is intriguing given its status as a non-traditional market.

Snapshots: Ekblad, Broberg, Janmark, Dach

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At the time that the Panthers placed Aaron Ekblad on LTIR, there was no timetable for his return beyond that it was expected that he’d be back this season.  In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that the blueliner is likely to miss somewhere between four and seven weeks.  At a minimum, he has to miss 10 games and 24 days and if he’s ready to be back at the shorter end of that timeline, Ekblad might not miss much more than the minimum time.  Florida isn’t expected to go out and acquire a short-term replacement as they’ll need to have enough cap space to activate Ekblad when he’s ready to return but fortunately for them, they shouldn’t be without their star blueliner for too long.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • At the beginning of the season, the Oilers were shuffling defenseman Philip Broberg back and forth between Edmonton and AHL Bakersfield. They haven’t lately and Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) why as the blueliner has been dealing with an upper-body injury for the last few days and is questionable to play this weekend.  Accordingly, it’ll take a little longer before he gets his next chance with the big club.  Meanwhile, Nugent-Bowman adds that the reason that veteran winger Mattias Janmark hasn’t played in Bakersfield yet despite being sent down nearly two weeks ago is that he has yet to receive his U.S. work permit.
  • Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach has been placed in concussion protocol, notes Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link). It’s the second time in a month that he has been moved there after entering protocol in mid-September.  The 19-year-old had gotten off to a good start with WHL Kelowna with three points in as many games but now, it’s likely he’ll be shut down for a little while.  Dach has already signed his entry-level deal with Chicago and will likely turn pro next season.

Snapshots: Buchnevich, Allen, Ingham

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The St. Louis Blues could be without an impact piece tonight when they visit the Seattle Kraken. Top-six winger Pavel Buchnevich left the ice early during their morning skate today and will be a game-time decision tonight with a lower-body injury, according to head coach Craig Berube.

The Blues were one of the last teams to open their season and, as a result, have only played one game so far. Buchnevich was one of their best players in a road outing against Columbus, though, notching a goal and an assist and leading the team with a +3 rating. The Russian winger is coming off a gargantuan season in which he broke the point-per-game plateau for the first time, scoring 76 points in 73 games. If Buchnevich can’t go, the team would either replace him in the lineup with Josh Leivo or dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, getting Calle Rosen in for his season debut.

  • Goalie Jake Allen will return to the Montreal Canadiens crease tomorrow night after welcoming the birth of his third daughter. Allen is expected to get his third start of the season against the Arizona Coyotes, who are coming off an impressive 4-2 win in Toronto. The 32-year-old Canadian has a sparkling .943 save percentage through two games this season, his third as a Canadien.
  • A top goalie prospect for the Los Angeles Kings is set to undergo surgery. Mayor’s Manor’s John Hoven reports that Jacob Ingham had back surgery yesterday and is expected to be out for five to six months. It’s a tough blow for Ingham, who’s played sparingly in both the AHL and ECHL over the past two seasons since turning pro. The Kings selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Snapshots: Nichushkin, Keenan, Carter

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The IIHF has dropped all charges related to a years-old doping allegation for Valeri Nichushkin, according to the Russian Hockey Federation. The decision follows the additional analysis of a sample given back in 2013, when he was still playing with Traktor Chelyabinsk. It had been reanalyzed in 2019 and found to have a “suspicious level of testosterone,” leading to an additional investigation.

While this wouldn’t have affected his NHL standing, it could have impacted Nichushkin’s international eligibility. He hasn’t played at the World Championship since 2017, or Olympics since 2014.

  • Speaking of IIHF announcements, there’s another big name in the news today. Mike Keenan, legendary (and infamous) hockey coach, will lead the Italian men’s national team in the 2023 World Championship. The program is ramping up in preparation for hosting the 2026 winter Olympics in Milan, and has brought in a well-known name to get them on track. Keenan hasn’t coached professionally since the 2017-18 season when he was with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL, and hasn’t been an NHL head coach since 2009 with the Calgary Flames. The 72-year-old has championships at the NHL, KHL, and AHL levels, and coached Canada at the Worlds in 1993.
  • Anson Carter is now a minority owner of the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, as the controlling interest of the club was transferred today. Alex Campbell will serve as majority owner, while Carter, a veteran of nearly 700 games in the NHL, is just excited to be involved in pro hockey in his “adopted hometown” of Atlanta. The Gladiators start their season on Friday when they take on the defending Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades.

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