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Andrei Vasilevskiy Suffers Serious Foot Injury, Out Four To Six Weeks

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11/16: Tampa Bay has updated the situation, confirming that Vasilevskiy did indeed suffer a left foot fracture. The Lightning announced that their starting goalie is expected to miss four to six weeks while he recovers. The timeline leaves open the possibility that Vasilevsky could return to the Tampa net by the middle of next month, possibly in time for a divisional clash with the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 13th. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Vasilevskiy may have already played his final game of the 2018 calendar year.

11/15: The Tampa Bay Lightning lost their last game at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres 2-1, but may have suffered a loss even bigger just a few days prior. Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has suffered a broken left foot, while Joe Smith of The Athletic confirms that he’s going in for evaluation later today. The last game Vasilevskiy had played was a 6-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on the weekend. Louis Domingue will now likely take over the full-time starting duties for the Lightning as they deal with this situation, and Eddie Pasquale has been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch.

Vasilevskiy apparently injured the foot at practice while making a save, and has been sent back to Tampa Bay to have further testing done. In the meantime the team has already placed him on injured reserve, meaning they know that he’ll be out for at least a week. If it turns into a long-term issue, the Lightning have to be concerned about their precarious lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division, given Domingue’s lack of experience as a true starter.

Since being drafted in 2010, the 26-year old Domingue has just 101 NHL games under his belt and has never played more than 39 in a single season. Even that was several years ago with the Arizona Coyotes, and since Pasquale has still yet to make an appearance at the NHL level the Lightning don’t have a ton of experience in the crease right now. Domingue did perform well after coming over to the Lightning last season and earned himself a two-year extension with the team. He’ll have to earn every penny of that paycheck now, as the Lightning will have to rely on him for the foreseeable future.

Penguins’ Matt Cullen Fined For Dangerous Trip

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The NHL Department of Player Safety has made a ruling today on an incident that no one has considered ripe for supplemental discipline. Player Safety announced that veteran Pittsburgh Penguins center Matt Cullen has received a $1,000 fine for a “dangerous trip” of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s J.T. Miller in last night’s game. A minimum fine by any measure for a pro athlete, $1,000 equates to 0.0015 of Cullen’s $650K salary or approximately one-eighth of his game check.

The incident in question occurred late in the first period of a 4-3 win for the Lightning. Cullen’s stick appeared to jab Miller in the back of the right leg as he was about receive a pass in the offensive zone, sending the Bolts forward toppling backward. Cullen was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for tripping and Brayden Point scored on the resulting power play for Tampa Bay. Apparently, this was not enough for Player Safety who, while not expanding on their decision, felt that this trip qualified as “dangerous” and worthy of a fine.

Cullen recently voiced his opinion about the NHL’s system of punishing its players, citing his displeasure with the appeals process and the overturned suspension by a neutral arbitrator of rival Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson. Cullen, 42, is a well-respected veteran player who himself likely has a future beyond his playing days with the league or in a front office. Yet, there would be quite a degree of comical irony if he was to appeal his own minor punishment, perhaps even all the way to a neutral arbitrator. Seeing as this fine is relatively random, he may even have a case. Cullen, of course, is unlikely to move forward with an appeal of $1,000 fine unless only to display his own opinion on the redundancy of the NHL’s appeals process.

Michael Bournival, Filip Sandberg Placed On Waivers

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Friday: Both players have cleared waivers, meaning Bournival can be sent to the Crunch, and Sandberg will see his contract terminated.

Thursday: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Michael Bournival on waivers according to CapFriendly, meaning the forward is likely healthy enough to resume playing after starting the year on season-opening injured reserve. Bournival played just five games for the Lightning last season and was always expected to spend much of the year in the minor leagues. The San Jose Sharks have also placed Filip Sandberg on unconditional waivers for purpose of a mutual contract termination, something we’ve seen more and more of this season.

Bournival, 26, has bounced around the league since being selected by the Colorado Avalanche in 2010. Traded to the Montreal Canadiens just a few months after he was drafted, he actually played 60 games in the NHL during the 2013-14 season and recorded 14 points before suiting up again for the team in the postseason. That would be the most NHL ice time he’d see though, as Bournival has played just 53 more NHL games since. Still, he’s developed into a quality minor league player for the Syracuse Crunch and scored 34 points in 57 games last season. Should he clear, he’ll likely bounce up and down for the Lightning as an extra forward capable of filling in for injury.

Sandberg meanwhile will likely return to Sweden where he was signed from in 2017, and continue his playing career in the SHL. The undersized forward never did make it to the NHL, instead playing just 55 games total at the AHL level. His contract will come off the books for the Sharks, and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Minor Transactions: 11/13/18

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Another busy Tuesday night in the NHL as nine games are scheduled to take place, with the Minnesota Wild welcoming in the Stanley Cup champions, and the Nashville Predators battling the San Jose Sharks. It’s a busy night, but teams are already working to finalize their rosters and make small changes. We’ll be here to keep track of all of them.

  • Erik Cernak has been recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning, as Anton Stralman deals with an injury. Cernak, another one of the interesting prospects in the Lightning system, has seven points in nine games for the Syracuse Crunch this season. The talented defenseman combines both size and skill to get by, and could make his NHL debut this week if the team inserts him into the lineup.
  • Micheal Haley has been dealing with personal issues and entered the player assistance earlier this season but will now get a chance to get back on the ice. The Florida Panthers have assigned the veteran forward to the minor leagues on a conditioning loan, in order to get him back into game shape. Haley, 32, played 75 games for the Panthers last season, the most in any single season of his career. He recorded 212 penalty minutes in those 75 games, which easily led the league.
  • Pavel Zacha is back in the NHL, recalled by the New Jersey Devils after they placed Brian Boyle on injured reserve. Zacha had recently been sent down to the minor leagues to regain his confidence and scoring touch, which he seemed to do with five points in four games for the Binghamton Devils. The 21-year old forward is still without a point this season in the NHL, and will be a key part of any turnaround the Devils have in store this year.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Gustav Forsling from the minor leagues, while placing Marcus Kruger on injured reserve retroactive to November 9th. Forsling comes into a defense corps that is without Brandon Davidson for the time being as he deals with a leg injury, and one that has struggled recently to keep the puck out of their net. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Forsling is on his way up to join forces with new Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton, but it is still to be seen whether he can help the Blackhawks break their current eight-game losing streak.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have continued to send players back to the minors during homestands, today assigning A.J. Greer to the AHL. That’s the benefit of having an affiliate so close, something the Avalanche are now experiencing with the Colorado Eagles entering the AHL. Greer has played just a single game for the Avalanche this season.
  • Ben Gleason almost scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game this past weekend, but after it was tipped by a player in the slot he was forced to settle for just his first point. Now, after two games with the Dallas Stars, Gleason will need to wait for his next opportunity to score that elusive goal. He has been sent down to the Texas Stars.

Atlantic Notes: Rask, Miller, Joseph, Pageau

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It looks like the Boston Bruins may get back goaltender Tuukka Rask on Tuesday after he was granted a leave of absence on Thursday for personal reasons, according to NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin. The scribe writes that the team will talk to the veteran Monday with the hopes of his return immediately thereafter, but nothing is confirmed until then.

Rask has struggled all season before requesting a leave of absence as the veteran has a 3.05 GAA and a .901 save percentage in eight appearances, not the numbers that a player making $7MM. While the Bruins have kept Rask’s reason for the request silent, the hope is that a break may be able to help him re-focus on the season.

The Bruins have been fortunate to have signed Jaroslav Halak, who has been impressive and looks to have seized the starting job away from the struggling Rask. Halak has a 1.86 GAA and a .941 save percentage in 10 appearances. He stopped 40 of 41 shots in Saturday’s victory over Toronto and without Rask on hand, is expected to play back-to-back against Vegas today.

  • Benjamin also reports that Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said that defenseman Kevan Miller could return by the end of the team’s four-game road trip that starts on Wednesday. Miller hasn’t played in a game since Oct. 18 with an undisclosed injury.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning finds itself thrilled with the constant improvements of rookie forward Mathieu Joseph, who after going scoreless in 13 straight games, broke through to have scored four goals in the last four games, according to The Athletic’s Greg Auman (subscription required). The surprising thing is that after 13 scoreless games, the deep Lightning team continued to play him. “My thing with that is if you’re doing all the right things and you’re getting chances and chances and chances, eventually they’re going to go in,” head coach Jon Cooper said. “So there are probably plays he made that should have gone in the net but didn’t, and all of a sudden, plays that maybe don’t go in the net do. That’s just the way it works. He got rewarded tonight. I’m a big believer that if you keep putting yourself in the right position, good things are going to happen.”
  • The Ottawa Senators got a nice piece of news today as center Jean-Gabriel Pageau was seen taking the ice alongside defenseman Ben Harpur and forward Zack Smith, according to TSN’s Todd White. It was reported that Pageau, who suffered a torn Achilles on Sept. 13, would miss six months, however, Pageau has made remarkable progress. While skating is just one step on his way to a full recovery, it’s a good sign to see him back on the ice. Head coach Guy Boucher said that even the medical staff has been impressed by his recovery, although he’s still a long ways off.

Atlantic Notes: Weber, Athanasiou, Pysyk, Kovar

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The Montreal Canadiens have had a nice start to the season with an 8-5-3 record to start the season. However, more good news could be on the way as there was a Shea Weber sighting today as the veteran defenseman took the ice this morning along with David Schlemko, Brendan Gallagher, Noah Juulsen and Carey Price, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie.

The team captain was originally scheduled to return sometime in December, so it still may be a while before he fully returns, but this is a step in the right direction for the veteran. Weber could add another key element to a young team that seems to have found some offense from a number of young names and gotten some solid goaltending from Price. Adding Weber to their blueline could only make the team stronger as they start hitting the middle of their season schedule.

  • The Detroit Red Wings like what they see from winger Andreas Athanasiou so far this year. What the 24-year-old has always lacked was competive consistency, which they are finally starting to see everyday, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan. Athanasiou has always had the speed that many people felt he could put up big numbers if he figured things out. However, the best the Red Wings have gotten out of him has been 18 goals, two years ago. Through 13 games so far this season, he already has six goals and nine points and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. “I know those chances are going to come, so it’s just playing hard when I get out there and capitalizing on those chances,” Athanasiou said.
  • George Richards of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Florida Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk remains a healthy scratch for the seventh straight time despite being medically cleared to play again on Thursday, but can’t seem to work his way back into Florida’s lineup. He was knocked out of the lineup after taking a hit from Washington’s Alex Ovechkin on Oct. 19. The hope is he will be in the lineup on Sunday.
  • Jan Kovar was brought overseas with the intention of plugging him in the New York Islanders’ lineup. Two months later has the 28-year-old Kovar playing on a PTO with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, but faring quite well with five goals and nine points in eight games. Could a promotion be in order? “Smart player,” said Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney (via Providence Journal’s Mark Divver). “I really like the skills, top of the circles down in the offensive zone. What probably surprises me a little bit, coming from (the KHL), is how gritty he is, as far as playing in high traffic, possession.”
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that defenseman Anton Stralman and forward Adam Erne were out tonight and are listed as day-to-day, both with upper-body injuries. With the return of defenseman Victor Hedman, it looked as if the team’s defense was almost healthy. Instead, the team will be without Stralman for the time being, who was the one to fill many of Hedman’s minutes. Slater Koekkoek remains in the lineup.

 

Minor Transactions: 11/09/18

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The NHL is unusually active for a Friday night, with six games on the schedule including the Hall of Fame game in Toronto. The New Jersey Devils will take part in the game honoring the new inductees which include Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Willie O’Ree, Alexander Yakushev, Jayna Hefford and Gary Bettman. As the league prepares to induct some of the greatest to play the game, we’ll keep track on all the more minor moves around the league.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned Cameron Gaunce to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL after almost two weeks with the team. Gaunce never did suit up for the Lightning, and will now try to get back into game shape with the Crunch. The 28-year old defenseman will likely be the extra man called up several times this season, though his playing time is expected to be restricted to mostly the minor leagues.
  • Given John Klingberg’s injury, the Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Joel Hanley from the minor leagues. They’ve also moved both Klingberg and Alexander Radulov to injured reserve, though the latter’s stint is retroactive to October 30th. Hanley has five points in 11 AHL games this season, and will try to force his way into the NHL lineup now that they’re missing a big part of their blue line for at least a month.
  • The Ottawa Senators have returned Erik Burgdoerfer to the minor leagues, even as they start their short two-game road trip in Florida. Burgdoerfer has played in just a single game with Ottawa this season, and will spend most of the year in the minor leagues.
  • Jesper Bratt has been officially activated by the Devils and should be in the lineup tonight, a move that needed no corresponding transaction given that Eddie Lack cleared waivers and can remain in the minor leagues. Lack had been on conditioning loan to the Binghamton Devils and will now stay there on assignment. The Devils have sent Kurtis Gabriel back to the AHL though, in order to activate Stefan Noesen for tonight’s game.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have returned a pair of young players to the AHL. The team announced that forward Sam Carrick and defenseman Andy Welinski have been reassigned to the San Diego Gulls. Both players have logged considerable time in the minors already this season, but have only suited up for eight games total for the Ducks.

Ondrej Palat Out Four Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a great start to the season, but will have to deal with the loss of a key forward for the next month. The team announced today that Ondrej Palat will be out for the next four weeks with a lower-body injury. Palat injured his foot when blocking a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights, and according to Joe Smith of The Athletic, is not expecting to have surgery.

Palat, 27, is in the second season of his long-term deal with the team, and so far hasn’t been able to provide quite the value they were expecting. After recording 52 points in 2016-17, last season was a down year due to injury limiting him to just 56 contests. Missing four weeks already this year threatens to make it a similar outcome, especially given that Palat is still searching for his first goal. The talented winger could be the team’s best defensive forward—a title that Brayden Point is pushing to claim—but could be limited to fewer than 15 goals in consecutive seasons depending on how the rest of the year turns out. Four weeks would keep Palat out for an additional 15 games, meaning the most he could possibly play this season is 61.

It’s a troubling trend for a player that is such an important part to the Tampa Bay attack, as Palat hasn’t played more than 75 games in a season since 2013-14. That was his first full-time chance in the NHL, and still stands as his career-high in goal scoring with 23. Though he’s been an excellent playoff contributor and provides flexibility by being a fit in multiple spots throughout the lineup, the team needs him on the ice more consistently if they want to really get any return value on his $5.3MM cap hit. Because of the unusual structure of his deal, he’s actually earning $6.855MM in salary this year.

Ondrej Palat To Miss A Few More Weeks; Victor Hedman Close To Returning

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Lightning winger Ondrej Palat is not recovering well from the lower-body injury he sustained in late October.  Accordingly, the team has decided to shut him down for a couple of weeks with the hope that some rest will help the issue, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link).  However, he’s not expected to need surgery.  The Czech winger has yet to score in nine games this season but has collected five assists.

Meanwhile, Smith adds that defenseman Victor Hedman won’t suit up on Thursday night but is nearing a return to the lineup.  He has been out since sustaining an upper-body injury on October 26th and will be a welcome addition to the Lightning’s back end as their number one blueliner.

Milan Lucic Receives Fine From Department Of Player Safety

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2:53pm: Lucic has been fined $10,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA. The Oilers power forward will avoid suspension, though this incident will be taken into account for any further disciplinary decisions.

11:08am: The Department of Player Safety has more work scheduled for this week, as Darren Dreger of TSN reports there be a phone hearing for Milan Lucic following the incident last night in Tampa Bay. Lucic, angered by the lack of penalty or penance for a hit from behind earlier in the game, followed Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph around the ice before eventually landing a big hit away from the puck and attacking him on the ice. The incident led to both lines coming together in the corner, with players like Darnell Nurse and Alex Killorn getting involved.

Lucic, 30, is likely feeling some added frustration given his struggles this season. The power forward has just one goal and four points in his first 15 games, a far cry from the expectations that came with his seven-year $42MM contract. His offensive numbers plummeted last season to a total of just 10 goals, and things haven’t changed for him despite several opportunities alongside Edmonton’s best players.

Despite still being a powerful physical force, Lucic has turned into something of an anchor for an Oilers team that wants to play with much more pace. His $6MM cap hit is troublesome given the other huge commitments Edmonton has made to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and it part of the reason the team is pressed right up against the salary ceiling without many secondary scoring threats. A suspension would only serve to further suppress any production from Lucic, though he doesn’t have a long history with the league despite his physical play. He has been suspended before, but not for several years and never for more than one game at a time.

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