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Snapshots: Kadri, Housley, Rochester

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There was concern earlier today out of Colorado Avalanche camp, as forward Nazem Kadri was notably missing from practice with an undisclosed illness. Those concerns were calmed a bit with the confirmation that the illness was not in fact COVID-19, says Peter Baugh of The Athletic (link). According to Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Post, who spoke to Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar, Kadri is still expected to be ready for Game 1 on Tuesday night (link).

Keeping Kadri in the lineup is key for the Avalanche as they head into the playoffs with eyes set on the Stanley Cup. As strong as their lineup is, Kadri plays a pivotal role as their second-line center, playing a 200-foot game and contributing plenty offensively. The forward just finished his best season to date, in which he compiled 28 goals and 59 assists in 71 games. Colorado is set to take on the Nashville Predators at home Tuesday night in Game 1 of the first round.

  • Staying out west, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they have mutually parted ways with Assistant Coach Phil Housley (link). Housley just finished the third year of a three-year contract he signed with Arizona in June of 2019. It’s unclear what the next step is for the Hall of Fame defenseman, who previously spent two seasons as the Head Coach of the Buffalo Sabres, but the 58-year-old should be able to find opportunities if he wants them, considering his lengthy resume on and off the ice. As for Arizona, it does not appear that any additional changes are coming to the coaching staff, outside of possibly replacing Housley, but first-year Head Coach Andre Tourigny has drawn very favorable reviews despite Arizona’s struggles.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced that they have reassigned forward Peyton Krebs and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to the Rochester Americans of the AHL ahead of Rochester’s playoff series against the Belleville Senators. Both players, who were sent to Rochester on paper on March 21st, are eligible to compete for the team in the Calder Cup playoffs. The two have each spent time in Rochester and Buffalo this season and are viewed as key pieces of Buffalo’s future. For now, they will get valuable experience competing in professional playoff games.

Snapshots: Yandle, O’Connor, Keller, Merzlikins

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Despite a disappointing season for the Philadelphia Flyers, there were several highlights, including veteran defenseman Keith Yandle, who broke Doug Jarvis’ ironman consecutive games played streak, setting his own mark with 989. At the Flyers season-ending media availability, Yandle notably chose not to speak to the media, reports Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (link). O’Connor points out rumors that Yandle could in fact choose to retire this offseason, citing circumstantial evidence and comments from his Flyers teammates.

There’s reason to think Yandle could continue to play, but also reason to see why he may not. For one, Yandle is no longer the player he used to be. Once a defenseman that regularly topped 50 points per season, most recently hitting a career-high 62 points in 2018-19, he has seen that number consistently drop since, with just 19 points in 77 games this season. The veteran also saw his playing time limited this season, culminating in the ending of his ironman streak, even on a struggling Flyers team. On the other hand, Yandle is just 35-years-old, and while far from a rookie, there could certainly be something left in the tank, especially as a defenseman. To that end, Yandle continued his ironman streak into this year and was poised to continue it, but for the Flyers choice to sit him in lieu of younger talent.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they have recalled forward Drew O’Connor from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins of the AHL (link). The 23-year-old O’Connor has split time between Pittsburgh and Scranton this season, playing in 33 AHL games and 22 NHL games. Nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL, O’Connor has just five NHL points this season. Per Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, bringing up O’Connor could be an answer for Pittsburgh in the wake of Jason Zucker’s uncertainty due to injury (link). Pittsburgh is set to begin its first round playoff series against the Rangers in New York this Tuesday.
  • Moving out west, according to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports, Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller could resume skating in three weeks (link). This might not seem like big news, with Arizona’s season ending and approximately five-and-a-half months until opening night, but consider that Keller fractured his leg on March 31st, forcing him to be stretchered off the ice and taken to the hospital, where he would have surgery on his leg. At that point, Keller’s status for not only next season, but perhaps his career, seemed to be in question. While an opening night return for Keller was later confirmed, seeing Keller back on the ice in three weeks, roughly seven weeks after the injury and surgery, is a huge step forward and reason for optimism for the Coyotes.
  • From Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is expected to play at the upcoming World Championships in Finland (link). Not a favorite to win the championship, Merzlikins’ home country of Latvia carries with it a passionate group of players and supporters, including Merzlikins. The goaltender recently opened up more about the loss of his close friend and fellow Latvian and Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender, Matiss Kivlenieks, who passed away this summer. Playing for their home country could surely be a way for Merzlikinis to honor his late friend.

Snapshots: Knight, Subban, Bourque, Avalanche

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The NHL has named Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight as the Rookie of the Month for April.  The 21-year-old finished up his first full professional campaign on a high note, posting a 2.16 GAA along with a .925 SV% in seven starts for Florida this month.  With veteran Sergei Bobrovsky’s numbers checking in at 3.27 and .893 respectively over that same stretch, Knight has made a strong push for playing time in their upcoming playoff series against Washington.  He’s the second Panther to get the award this season, joining center Anton Lundell who received the honor in January.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Sabres goaltender/surprise anthem singer Malcolm Subban told reporters today, including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) that he’d love to return to Buffalo next season. The pending unrestricted free agent was traded to the Sabres in December but got into just four games before suffering a season-ending upper-body injury back in January.  After clearing waivers earlier in the year, it seems likely that Subban’s best fit would be as a third-string netminder and Buffalo will likely have an opening in that spot with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen expected to be up full-time in the NHL next season.
  • Veteran forward Chris Bourque announced (Twitter link) that he is retiring. The 36-year-old played in 51 career NHL games over parts of four seasons with Washington, Pittsburgh, and Boston while spending 13 years in the minors where he’s 20th in all-time AHL scoring with 746 points.  Bourque spent the past three seasons with Ingolstadt in Germany, collecting 134 points in 141 games.
  • Avalanche defenseman Kurtis MacDermid and winger Logan O’Connor avoided any suspensions from the league for their actions against Minnesota on Friday. However, both will be a little lighter in the wallet as the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter links) that both players received fines worth half of one day’s salary, the maximum allowable under the CBA.  MacDermid was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for kneeing winger Marcus Foligno who looked to be seriously injured on the play.  O’Connor, meanwhile, had cross-checked defenseman Dmitry Kulikov although the blueliner was eventually able to return to the game.

Snapshots: Toronto Maple Leafs, Pulock, Johnsson

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Auston Matthews’ hunt for a 60-goal season ended Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings, scoring numbers 59 and 60 in a 3 – 0 win. Unfortunately for those hoping to see the Hart Trophy candidate exceed 60 goals, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to sit Matthews, along with forward Mitch Marner and goaltender Jack Campbell when they take on the Boston Bruins tomorrow night, reports Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, Toronto’s final game of the season. Sitting the three shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, with the Maple Leafs place in the standings, second in the Atlantic Division, completely secured, giving no reason to risk the health of these three incredibly important players.

In addition to Matthews and his 60 goals, Mitch Marner had himself another season to remember, putting up 35 goals and 62 assists for 97 points in 72 games this season. Campbell on the other hand, has had his struggles. An All-Star this season, Campbell was discussed as a potential Vezina Trophy candidate as recently as January, but struggles in net and injury made for a tough second half of the season for the veteran netminder. On the season, Campbell has a .914 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average in 49 games, but after the All-Star break, Campbell sported just an .894 save percentage and 3.28 goals-against average in 17 games. As concerning as that shift is for Toronto, there is a reason for optimism, as Campbell has a .915 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average in nine games in the month of April.

  • The New York Islanders will be without defenseman Ryan Pulock tonight as they take on the Washington Capitals (link). Pulock is out with a non-COVID illness, the same illness that has made its rounds through the Islanders’ locker room the past couple of weeks, forcing several players to sit out in that time. With just one game left in their season after tonight, the Islanders will hope to get Pulock back and keep the rest of the lineup intact for their final game against the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night. Pulock has enjoyed another strong season on the Islanders blue line, but has dealt with injury, missing time in November and December. In 55 games this season, the defenseman has five goals and 15 assists, averaging just over 21 minutes per game.
  • The New Jersey Devils also announced that forward Andreas Johnsson would miss tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a non-COVID illness (link). It’s unclear what illness Johnsson has come down with, but for tonight at least, the Devils will have to proceed without him. New Jersey has just one game after tonight, coming tomorrow night against the Detroit Red Wings. Johnsson has enjoyed a solid season thus far, tallying 13 goals and 22 assists over 71 games and will hope to build on it next year, his final with the Devils before becoming a UFA next offseason.

Snapshots: Player Poll, OHL Awards, Price

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The NHLPA released the results of their annual Player Poll, which takes the temperature of players around the league on a variety of topics. More than 42 percent of the league, for instance, would pick Connor McDavid if they had to win one game and needed to choose a single skater. McDavid lags well behind Sidney Crosby in terms of the “most complete player” according to the players, as nearly 30 percent of them voted for the Pittsburgh Penguins captain in that category.

While some of those answers may not surprise, the poll also includes things like which NHL arena has the best ice, which player has the best “hockey hair,” and which non-NHL athlete they would like to trade places with. It’s a fun exercise that certainly can cause some heated debate among fans.

  • Meanwhile, the OHL released the results of their own polling, this time for the league’s award finalists. Wyatt Johnston and Brandon Coe are the finalists for the Red Tilson Trophy, given to the Most Outstanding Player. Johnston, a first-round pick by the Dallas Stars in 2021, scored 124 points in 68 games for the Windsor Spitfires, while Coe, a fourth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, had 101 in 62. Cam Allen and David Goyette are the Rookie of the Year finalists, though the former won’t even be eligible for the NHL draft until 2023. Goyette, 18, was ranked 35th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
  • After it came to light yesterday that Carey Price would consult with his surgeon about his knee, many eyebrows raised around the hockey world. The veteran goaltender only just made his return to the ice recently, playing in four games for the Montreal Canadiens. While he’s only listed as day-to-day, Price’s visit should raise some concern, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, who questions the future of the netminder in the NHL should he be facing another long rehab. Price is signed through the 2025-26 season and carries a cap hit of $10.5MM.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Ovechkin, Senators

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The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, with Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos leading the way. After racking up 13 points in four games Stamkos is now just three points away from cracking the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. Already with a career-high of 60 assists, Stamkos has changed his game dramatically over the last few seasons and reinvigorated a Hall of Fame-level career that had been held back by injuries.

Second and third went to Kevin Fiala and Jonathan Quick, two players that have been questioned at times over the last few years. Fiala, 25, has finally found a level of consistency that matches his talent, and with 11 points in four games last week now has 84 on the season. In fact, Fiala is on a ten-game point streak and is really establishing himself as one of the most dynamic offensive players in the entire league, something that certainly will complicate matters in the offseason when he hits restricted free agency for the final time. Quick meanwhile was left for dead a few years ago when injuries struck and his numbers fell off a cliff, but the 36-year-old has battled admirably for the Kings this season. With a .909 save percentage, he still lags behind some of the league’s elite netminders but just ask some of his previous Western Conference opponents about how dominant he can be in the postseason.

  • Alex Ovechkin has been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury after leaving last night’s game for the Washington Capitals but was present on the ice and in full uniform at the team photo today. With the Capitals still trying to chase down the Pittsburgh Penguins for a better playoff position, losing Ovechkin over the last few games of the season will obviously be a big blow. But with their inclusion in the postseason secure, resting him through the next week may be the more prudent option. Ovechkin, who will turn 37 before the start of next season, has 50 goals and 90 points in 77 games this year.
  • The Ottawa Senators had an exciting reinforcement at practice today as Shane Pinto joined the group, but he won’t actually play before the end of the season. Pinto hasn’t played since November, and totaled just five games on the season. It was more bad news when head coach D.J. Smith took the podium after practice, announcing that Colin White and Connor Brown are both not expected to play again this season. Brown is dealing with nagging injuries and his inclusion in the upcoming World Championship will be up to him and how he feels in the coming weeks. Brown finishes the disappointing year with ten goals and 39 points in 64 games.

Snapshots: Jets, Behrens, Lehner, Zadina

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With Winnipeg now mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, interim head coach Dave Lowry told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe (Twitter link), that center Mark Scheifele and winger Cole Perfetti aren’t expected to return by the end of the season.  Scheifele has missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury while Perfetti has been out for more than two months with an upper-body issue of his own.  Perfetti, however, is expected to rejoin the team for practice sometime next week and could be a candidate to play for Canada at the World Championships next month for the second year in a row.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • After an impressive freshman season at the University of Denver, Avalanche defenseman prospect Sean Behrens told Peter Baugh of The Athletic (subscription link) that he sees himself remaining in college for one or two more years. The 19-year-old was a second-round pick (61st overall) last summer and had 29 points in 37 games as he helped lead the Pioneers to the NCAA title.  With Colorado moving blueline prospects Justin Barron and Drew Helleson at the trade deadline, Behrens is now clearly their top prospect on the back end.
  • Following Friday’s confusion of reports suggesting Robin Lehner was out for the season while Vegas head coach Peter DeBoer stated he expected the netminder at practice today, the Golden Knights issued a statement indicating that Lehner won’t skate today as he takes an additional maintenance day. However, the team remains hopeful that will be available to play tomorrow against San Jose.  This strange situation will drag out a little longer as a result.
  • Red Wings winger Filip Zadina won’t play again this season after undergoing an appendectomy back in Florida, relays MLive’s Ansar Khan. It was a tough year for the 22-year-old as he managed just 10 goals and 14 assists in 74 games.  While those were career highs, Detroit was undoubtedly expecting more from Zadina, the sixth-overall pick back in 2018.

Snapshots: Kakko, Acciari, Clinching Scenarios

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It’s no secret that New York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko has had some tough injury luck this season. He was sidelined in late January with an upper-body injury, missing about two and a half months before returning. He played just four games before suffering another injury, this time lower-body in nature, but head coach Gerard Gallant believes Kakko, who was injured on April 16th against Detroit, is expected back for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (if not sooner).

Kakko hasn’t exceeded expectations by any means on the scoresheet this season, tallying just seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points through 41 games this year. The pending restricted free agent was one of the Rangers’ best defensive forwards prior to the team’s post-deadline resurgence in that regard, so it’s not as though he hasn’t brought any real value to the table this season.

  • Noel Acciari is returning to the Florida Panthers lineup once again tonight against Detroit. The veteran forward has missed most of the season due to a combination of injuries, and now, he rejoins the team after missing 10 games with an undisclosed injury. Acciari has one goal and five points in 14 games this year.
  • Clinching scenarios remain boundless for tonight’s 11-game slate, with many matches still having playoff implications despite 12 out of 16 teams already clinching playoff berths. The Florida Panthers can clinch both the Atlantic Division and regular-season Eastern Conference titles with a win against Detroit, provided the Tampa Bay Lightning also defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in any fashion. The Calgary Flames will also clinch the Pacific Division title with a win of any kind against the Dallas Stars. Toronto and Carolina can also clinch home-ice advantage in the First Round, while the Wild and Blues can lock in a First Round matchup against each other.

Snapshots: Mittelstadt, Kadri, Hogberg

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Buffalo Sabres youngster Casey Mittelstadt looked like he may be taking a long-awaited step forward last season with his biggest role and best offensive production yet, but an injury-riddled season has seen Mittelstadt take a step back in his development, a concerning look for the eighth-overall pick considering he’s already 23. But after sitting down with Buffalo Hockey Beat’s Bill Hoppe, Mittelstadt detailed his extensive struggle with a recurring upper-body injury this year, one that’s kept him out of the lineup at length and has caused him to be shuffled around constantly when healthy, not finding any chemistry with consistent linemates. Sabres fans will remember that Mittelstadt sustained an injury in the first period of the season, causing him to subsequently miss more than 20 games and then re-aggravate the injury soon after returning. It’s been a lengthy, trying season for the young American, but he feels as though he’s settling back into his game ahead of next season.

More from around the NHL on this Wednesday night:

  • Via a cryptic tweet, it appears as though Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri is making his return to the lineup tonight after missing the entirety of April with an upper-body injury. The original hope was that Kadri would be able to recover from the injury, suffered on March 31st against the San Jose Sharks, in time for the playoffs. That goal appears to have been exceeded here, and Kadri will get the chance to add to his career-high 83 points with six games left to go in the season. The team still managed to go 7-1-0 in his absence.
  • Defenseman Linus Hogberg is expected to make his NHL debut tomorrow for the Philadelphia Flyers, making him the tenth(!) player to make his NHL debut for the team this season. Hogberg is in the midst of his first full season in North America, making his AHL debut with Lehigh Valley after being recalled from a loan that had him playing in his native Sweden. The two-way defenseman actually put up more points last season there in 26 games (eight) than he has this year in 57 (seven), but the team seems to want to give their 139th overall selection back in 2016 a brief crack at the NHL.

Snapshots: Ellis, PHF, Kane

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It’s been a trying year for Ryan Ellis, who played just four games for the Philadelphia Flyers after a trade from the only organization he had ever known previously. Injured, recovered, and injured again, the 31-year-old has basically lost an entire season, while watching his new team go down in flames. Now, the speculation over his future in Philadelphia is starting to ramp up, with a report today from Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period, who writes that some within the Flyers “wonder if Ellis even wants to be part of the organization.”

There has certainly been some confusion around where the veteran defenseman stands in his current recovery, as in late March, more than four months after he last appeared in a game, general manager Chuck Fletcher told reporters that they were still making a decision on whether Ellis needed surgery. Of course, with five years remaining on his contract and carrying a $6.25MM cap hit, Ellis is one of the most important players the Flyers have and one that is integral to any thoughts of competing for the playoffs next season.

  • The PHF has announced that free agency will open May 1 and this year will not include an entry draft. Instead, all amateur athletes graduating from NCAA and USports programs will immediately qualify for unrestricted free agency. The salary cap has also been confirmed to be set at $750K for this season, with a floor of $562.5K, and players are now eligible to sign two-year contracts which can include signing bonuses up to 10 percent of the total value. These increases all come following a massive private investment earlier in the year, which has also allowed the league to provide comprehensive benefit plans.
  • Evander Kane’s grievance hearing was started yesterday but will require a second day, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Unfortunately, that doesn’t come right away, and the second day is still to be determined. As suggested yesterday, the outcome of this grievance is still not expected for some time and should not have any effect on Kane’s current contractual status with the Edmonton Oilers.

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