Evening Notes: Kane, Klingberg, Team USA, Backlund, Alexeyev
After giving up six goals on 30 shots, it was clear throughout Game One that the Edmonton Oilers could use some reinforcements. According to Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels, that could be a realistic possibility relatively soon.
Michaels publicized a note from Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch indicating that there’s a “very good possibility” Edmonton will have forward Evander Kane and defenseman John Klingberg for Game 2 in their opening-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Neither player offers much in the defensive zone, but could prove valuable on the Oilers’ forecheck.
Kane will be the most interesting of the two to reinsert into the lineup. Despite letting in six goals, Edmonton still produced five, meaning Kane could give them the offensive edge to win the one-goal contests if their defense and goaltending struggle. Meanwhile, Klingberg failed to garner much offensive consistency with the Oilers in limited action this year, scoring one goal and four points in 11 games.
Other evening notes:
- Earlier today, USA Hockey announced the rest of their coaching staff for the 2025 IIHF World Championships. According to the announcement, Mike Vellucci (Pittsburgh Penguins), Kevin Dean (Chicago Blackhawks), and Adam Nightingale (Michigan State University) will serve as assistant coaches to head coach Ryan Warsofsky. Meanwhile, Thomas Speer has been named the team’s goaltending coach, while Nick Gialdini (San Jose Sharks) and Lawrence Feloney (Nashville Predators) will be the team’s video coaches.
- On the other side of the bracket, the Calgary Flames announced an important for Team Sweden this afternoon. The Flames shared that captain Mikael Backlund will participate in the World Championships for Sweden for the first time in seven years. Backlund delivered an outstanding performance in the 2018 IIHF World Championships, scoring two goals and accumulating nine points in 10 games, which helped lead Sweden to consecutive gold medals.
- Despite winning in overtime in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, the Washington Capitals had an injury scare late in the third period when defenseman Alexander Alexeyev left the game due to being high-sticked by Jake Evans. Fortunately, Alexeyev’s absence will not be lengthy, as Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports he will rejoin the lineup tomorrow night. It’s an important injury update for the Capitals as the team recently lost defenseman Martin Fehérváry for the postseason due to knee surgery.
Calgary Flames End Of Year Updates
Despite not making the postseason, the Calgary Flames had a promising year. The team improved by 15 points compared to last season but narrowly missed out on the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, losing to the St. Louis Blues based on the first tiebreaker, regulation wins.
After establishing a solid foundation, this offseason is crucial for the organization to continue progressing in the right direction. First and foremost, General Manager Craig Conroy and staff must determine which players they plan to keep around for the long haul.
Outside of phenom netminder Dustin Wolf, there is no more important extension candidate in Calgary than defenseman Rasmus Andersson. If nothing changes this summer, Andersson will enter the 2025-26 season on the last year of a six-year, $27.3MM contract signed with the Flames in 2020. As long as the Flames are interested, an extension should be completed sooner rather than later, as Andersson indicated back in January that he hopes to remain in southern Alberta.
Not being extension eligible throughout the 2024-25 season, Andersson will start actively contemplating an extension after playing for Team Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Championships, per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg. It’ll be the first time Andersson has played in the World Championships, having last played for Team Sweden during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
It is somewhat surprising that Andersson will continue playing throughout the summer, considering he played the final few weeks of the regular season with a broken fibula, according to Wes Gilberton of Postmedia. Still, it gives important context to Andersson’s slow finish to the regular season, scoring one goal and three points in 11 games with a -12 rating.
Andersson certainly wasn’t alone in being injured. TSN’s Salim Nadim Valji reported that captain Mikael Backlund tore his oblique and maintained rib and back ailments throughout the regular season. Furthermore, Steinberg shared that forward Yegor Sharangovich broke his foot in the team’s final game on Thursday, which landed him in a walking boot at today’s press availability.
The injuries aren’t expected to carry into next season, but they’ll preclude Backlund and Sharangovich from participating with their native countries in the World Championships. Still, the Flames will have plenty of participation, as Matthew Coronato will play for Team USA (Twitter Link), MacKenzie Weegar will play for Team Canada (Twitter Link), and Daniel Vladař will play for Team Czechia (Twitter Link). Dissimilarly, Steinberg shared that Jonathan Huberdeau won’t play for Team Canada, indicating that he denied an invitation from the team.
Circling back to Calgary’s devisement of strategy heading into the offseason, a few players indicated they’d love to re-sign with the Flames if afforded the opportunity. Defenseman Joel Hanley (Twitter Link) and Vladař (Twitter Link) were adamant on their desire to remain with the organization, with the latter having had contract talks throughout the regular season.
Sportsnet’s Logan Gordon reported that pending restricted free agent Morgan Frost wants to remain with Calgary, but the team hasn’t engaged in conversation regarding a new contract. Frost’s contract situation could become convoluted through the summer, given his lackluster play with the team after being acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers. Still, he’ll only require a $2.4MM qualifying offer to retain his rights, which the Flames can do comfortably.
Before going through a full offseason, Calgary doesn’t appear ready to compete for a top-three spot in the Pacific Division. Still, if this year wasn’t an apparition, and the Flames can repeat their performance from last year and the younger players continue to raise their games, it wouldn’t be a major surprise for Calgary to become a legitimate postseason contender for next season.
USA Hockey Names Ryan Warsofsky Head Coach For 2025 Worlds
USA Hockey announced today they’ve named Sharks bench boss Ryan Warsofsky as its head coach for the men’s national team at next month’s World Championship in Denmark and Sweden.
It’s the 37-year-old’s first time serving as a head coach at any level for the Americans, although it’s not his first experience with USA Hockey. He was an assistant under David Quinn, whom he replaced as San Jose’s coach last offseason, at the 2023 Worlds, culminating in a bronze game loss for the second consecutive season.
Warsofsky, a Massachusetts native, remains one of the more intriguing young coaches in the sport. He began coaching after a brief playing career in 2012, serving as an assistant coach at Division III Curry College for one year before making the jump to the ECHL as an assistant with the South Carolina Stingrays. He spent five years there, including the last two as head coach and director of hockey operations, before landing a gig in the Hurricanes organization as an assistant for their AHL affiliate, then in Charlotte. Warsofsky took over as Charlotte’s head coach a year later before assuming the role with the Chicago Wolves when Carolina switched affiliates.
After coaching the Wolves to a Calder Cup championship in 2022, the Sharks interviewed Warsofsky for their head coaching vacancy. They opted to hire Quinn but still took him on as an assistant. Two years later, he got the promotion. San Jose remains in the basement with a 20-45-10 record, but the Sharks’ point pace has jumped slightly since 2023-24, and their 5v5 possession numbers have improved significantly under Warsofsky. The Sharks are controlling 46.3% of shot attempts and 44.9% of scoring chances compared to 44.4% of shot attempts and 41.1% of scoring chances last year. Overall, San Jose is also scoring more and allowing less per game.
He’ll now be tasked with getting the USA its first medal at the Worlds since winning bronze in 2021. Their roster is expected to be slightly stronger in years past, with more available NHLers willing to participate in hopes of boosting their chances of making the Olympic roster next year.
East Notes: Thompson, Pesce, Pacioretty, Pulock
Team USA has been given permission to bring Sabres center Tage Thompson and Devils defenseman Brett Pesce to Boston as standby players for Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off finale, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. As was the case with Quinn Hughes who was initially intended as the reserve player, the only way Thompson or Pesce could suit up versus Canada is if Team USA drops below 12 healthy forwards or six healthy blueliners. Thompson was one of the more notable omissions from the initial roster and is averaging a point per game through 48 outings in Buffalo. Meanwhile, Pesce has been as advertised in his first season with New Jersey, logging nearly 21 minutes a night in a shutdown role in his 48 appearances.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- Maple Leafs winger Max Pacioretty left practice early today with head coach Craig Berube telling reporters including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that the veteran tweaked something when he took to the ice. Berube added the injury isn’t believed to be too serious at first glance. Pacioretty has dealt with injuries off and on throughout the season and has been limited to 37 outings where he has five goals and eight assists while logging just 13:30 per game, his lowest ATOI since his rookie year back in 2008-09.
- Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock took part in today’s practice in a non-contact jersey as he works his way back from an undisclosed injury sustained late last month. However, head coach Patrick Roy noted to reporters including Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that the blueliner’s availability for Sunday’s contest against Dallas remains uncertain. Pulock is logging nearly 22 minutes a night and has 16 points in 48 games and with the Isles just three points out of a share of the last playoff spot, getting him back soon would certainly help their fortunes.
Quinn Hughes Not Cleared For 4 Nations Championship
Feb. 19: Team USA has been informed that Hughes was not medically cleared to join the roster before Thursday, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. LeBrun shares that USA is looking into adding another defender to the lineup as an insurance option, given the illness circulating the 4-Nations tournament. Team USA would need to have less than six healthy defenseman to ice a player not currently on the roster.
Feb. 18: The United States may have reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes available for Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship against Canada, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters Tuesday (including Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic). He’s traveling to meet the team in Boston in the wake of an upper-body injury to Charlie McAvoy, but NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic that Hughes won’t be able to practice or play unless the Americans sustain another injury on defense ahead of the championship.
After being named as one of the first six players on the team last offseason, Hughes was on the Americans’ roster for the tournament up until last week, when he was ruled out after missing the Canucks’ final four games before the break with an oblique injury. Initially replaced by Jake Sanderson, he’s evidently now healthy and will be available if needed as the United States goes for its first best-on-best title since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Luckily for the United States, they’re unlikely to need any more injury replacements. Star sniper Auston Matthews is expected to play in the championship after serving as a late scratch in last night’s loss to Sweden because of upper-body soreness, Sullivan said (via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). He added both Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk will likely play after the former left Monday’s loss and the latter left Saturday’s win over Canada.
The Americans’ roster situation mirrors that of Canada’s after they lost defenseman Shea Theodore to an upper-body injury in their opening game against Sweden. Thomas Harley was allowed to fly out and meet the team but couldn’t practice or play unless they were unable to ice six defensemen. When Cale Makar was ruled out of their game against the U.S. due to illness, only then was Harley eligible to enter the lineup. He was not dressed when Makar returned to play yesterday against Finland.
At the very least, it’s a strong sign the Canucks will have their captain back when they return to play in Vegas on Saturday. The 25-year-old Hughes has improved further on last season’s elite two-way showing, bumping his points per game up to 1.26 from 1.12 and has posted career-highs in even-strength CF% (57.8) and relative CF% (+15.7).
There are three clear-cut Norris nominees in him, Makar, and Team USA teammate Zach Werenski. If Hughes takes home the hardware, he’d be the first back-to-back winner since the Red Wings’ Nicklas Lidström won three straight from 2006 to 2008.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Out Week-To-Week
Feb. 19: McAvoy is out week-to-week for Boston after undergoing a procedure to remove an infection stemming from his upper-body injury, sources told Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff on Tuesday evening. He’s likely bound for injured reserve to make room for the multiple recalls the Bruins made yesterday. Boston head team physician Dr. Peter Asnis confirmed Seravalli’s report, issuing the following statement on McAvoy’s health:
Charlie McAvoy sustained an injury to his right shoulder acromioclavicular joint in Team USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off game against Finland on February 13. He underwent treatment, which was administered by Team USA’s medical staff. Upon returning to Boston, he developed increasing pain, for which he was evaluated by the Boston Bruins’ medical staff. After undergoing X-rays, MRIs, and bloodwork, he was diagnosed as having an infection in his right shoulder, as well as a significant injury to his AC joint. He underwent an irrigation and debridement procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital on February 18. He remains in the hospital, where he is being treated with IV antibiotics, and his condition is improving.
Feb. 18: According to a statement from the Bruins, McAvoy has been ruled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday. Boston shared he’s undergoing testing at Massachusetts General Hospital for an upper-body injury and the team will pass along additional information as it becomes available.
Feb. 17: It’s already been confirmed through multiple reports this morning that Team USA would be resting defenseman Charlie McAvoy for tonight’s matchup against Team Sweden. Unfortunately, there appears to be another layer of context for McAvoy’s absence as Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub reports McAvoy is out with an upper-body injury and is questionable to play in Thursday’s championship game.
McAvoy would be a major missing piece for the Americans should he not be available for Thursday’s re-match against Team Canada. Although he went scoreless in the first North American rivalry contest, the Boston Bruins’ blue-liner landed five hits in 19:27 of ice time, including a momentum-altering body check against Connor McDavid.
Team USA has a more than capable in-house replacement in Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson but they’ll have a slight abundance of left-handed shots on the blue line. Sanderson, nor any other member of the United States defensive core, is as physical as McAvoy, but he can hold his own on the offensive side of the puck.
Aside from his immediate availability for the United States to close out the 4 Nations Face-Off, there’s no telling if McAvoy’s injury will affect his availability with the Bruins. Anderson didn’t offer a timeline for McAvoy’s recovery but it could be somewhat serious if he’ll miss an entire week of hockey.
Boston will emerge from the 4 Nations Face-Off break exactly one point back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with two additional games played compared to the Detroit Red Wings. Time is abundant for the Bruins to recapture a playoff spot but their probability will shrink without their top defenseman. Again, there’s no confirmation McAvoy will miss any time with the Bruins although it’ll be a situation to monitor.
4 Nations Notes: Tkachuk, Makar, Armia, Teräväinen
One of the more unfortunate substories during Team USA’s victory over Team Canada on Saturday night was the lower-body injury forward Matthew Tkachuk suffered in the third period. He won’t play against Team Sweden tonight, as Dan Rosen of the NHL reported that Tkachuk didn’t practice with the team this morning.
Since they are the only team in the tournament with two regulation wins, there’s not much on the line for Team USA this evening. However, it seems the United States is confident Tkachuk will return for the championship game on Thursday. Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe shared a note from Matthew’s brother, Brady Tkachuk, saying Matthew will be ‘good to go’ for Thursday’s matchup.
It’ll be important for the United States to get Matthew back in the lineup for the championship contest. He scored two goals and one assist in their victory against Team Finland last week and got the all-important matchup against Canada started with a fight against Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff. Much like they are for their respective NHL clubs, the Tkachuk brothers have quickly become Teams USA’s emotional lifeblood.
Other notes from the 4 Nations Face-Off:
- Another important substory from Saturday night’s rivalry matchup between Canada and the United States was the lack of the former’s top defenseman, Cale Makar. The former James Norris, Calder, and Conn Smythe Trophy winner was dealing with an illness that prohibited him from participating. Unfortunately for Team Canada, there’s no guarantee he’ll return against Team Finland. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shared that Makar has again been listed as a game-time decision for today’s matchup, meaning a firmer decision will be made closer to puck drop.
- Speaking of Team Finland, the team’s forward grouping will look slightly different. Dan Rosen reported that Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia is replacing Chicago Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teräväinen in this afternoon’s lineup. Teräväinen has gone scoreless throughout the tournament averaging approximately 8:30 of ice time per game.
Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk Suffers Lower-Body Injury
Team USA finally broke their losing streak against Team Canada on Saturday, emerging from the sides’ first meeting in over nine years with a closely-fought 3-1 victory. But the win has come at a cost, as top-line winger Matthew Tkachuk has been announced as out with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Sullivan made no indication of if Tkachuk would be available for USA’s Monday matchup against Team Sweden. The game will be relatively low-stakes given USA has already clinched a championship spot, which could offer Tkachuk a timely break.
It wasn’t clear when Tkachuk suffered his injury. He played his final shift with 12 minutes remaining in the third period and stayed on the bench for the rest of the game. Tkachuk appeared to be nursing his right leg as he skated to the bench – and skated around during the final TV timeouts – though it’s not clear if that’s the site of his new injury. A few minutes after his last shift, Tkachuk appeared to tell Sullivan and assistant coach John Tortorella that he wouldn’t be able to play.
Tkachuk has been the energizer for Team USA through their first two games. He scored two goals and added an assist in the country’s 6-1 routing of Team Finland, and kicked off the matchup against Canada with a fight off the opening draw. He’s added four hits – and also leads the tournament in high-danger shots on goal per NHL Edge. Tkachuk has spent the first two games glued to America’s top line, rotating between pairings with Jake Guentzel and Auston Matthews; and Brady Tkachuk and Jack Eichel. His fluid role of high-scoring bruiser will be a tough one to fill knowing that USA’s extra forward is New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider – who has just six hits in 47 NHL games this season.
Tkachuk’s absence could kneecap Team USA headed into the 4-Nations championship, but his long-term health must be top priority. He ranks second on the Florida Panthers in scoring this year, with 22 goals and 57 points in 52 games placing him just five points behind Sam Reinhart. Tkachuk also ranks third on the team in penalty minutes, likely part of why he’s averaged just 18 minutes of ice time all year. Tkachuk scored 22 points in 24 games of Florida’s Stanley Cup run last season. His presence will be pivotal to the team’s chances at a repeat.
Quinn Hughes Won’t Play In 4 Nations Face-Off, Jake Sanderson Named To Team USA
A third and arguably best defenseman has bowed out of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. The Vancouver Canucks announced defenseman Quinn Hughes would miss the international tournament due to injury. Shortly after, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators would replace Hughes on Team USA’s roster.
Hughes’ departure from Team USA’s roster follows on the heels of Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen and Vegas Golden Knights’ defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Both blue-liners are dealing with injuries (the former recovering from knee surgery) and have already been replaced on Team Finland and Team Canada.
With all due respect to Heiskanen and Pietrangelo, the Canucks captain is the highest-profile name to be removed from the competition. He’s missed the last four games for Vancouver due to a hand injury and the team is prioritizing their playoff hopes over Hughes’ participation in the tournament.
Although Heiskanen may ultimately be more valuable to his team, that’s only a testament to Team USA’s defensive depth. Hughes, who won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s best defenseman only one year ago, has scored 31 goals and 151 points in his last 129 regular-season games. The native of Orlando, Florida, last represented Team USA at the 2019 IIHF World Championships. If he does not play for the United States’ World Championship team this upcoming summer, he’ll have to wait until the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan to compete again.
Replacing Hughes on the roster is Ottawa’s Sanderson, who last played for Team USA in the 2024 IIHF World Championships. The Whitefish, MT native is only two and a half years removed from debuting in the NHL scoring 19 goals and 105 points in 211 career games. Given the rest of the talent on Team USA’s blue line, Sanderson should represent the team’s seventh defenseman although he’ll likely play in a handful of games.
Canucks Notes: Miller, Trade Chatter, Hughes
In today’s episode of ’32 Thoughts’ with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks and their recent trade activity were the center of attention. Friedman originally broke the news that the Canucks were trading forward J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers on Friday night, and Friedman provided even more context to the move.
Friedman reported that a players-only meeting happened during Vancouver’s early road trip to Florida in mid-October. This meeting addressed the rift between teammates Miller and Elias Pettersson. While the Sportsnet insider did not disclose which players led the discussion, the focus was on encouraging Miller and Pettersson to improve their relationship for the team’s betterment.
Ultimately, Miller’s relationship with Pettersson didn’t significantly improve, prompting him to take a month-long leave of absence. Friedman noted that when Miller returned in mid-November, the Vancouver organization had committed to trading him at some point this year.
The news from Friedman contradicts many of the reports surrounding Miller in December. In early December, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reported the Canucks had publicly asserted they wouldn’t be trading Miller, and that he wouldn’t be requesting a trade from Vancouver.
As things turned out, Miller was indeed on the chopping block, being sent to the Rangers for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a protected 2025 first-round pick. Vancouver quickly moved the first-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins later that evening to acquire Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. Friedman believes that will be the only first-round pick the Canucks will trade this season.
After last night’s overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver is 23-18-11 through 52 games and is two points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Given their status as a bubble team at the moment, the Canucks’ first-round pick has a higher value than most prospective buyers as it could realistically become a lottery selection by the end of the year.
The Canucks are aware of this and have reportedly told interested teams they have no interest in moving their first-round pick unless they have a comfortable spot in the standings by the trade deadline. Vancouver traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Calgary Flames last season in the package for Elias Lindholm making it the first time since 2021 that they hadn’t made a first-round selection.
Vancouver’s position as a playoff contender may impact captain Quinn Hughes‘ participation in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off starting next week. Hughes suffered a hand injury in the team’s recent game against the Dallas Stars, keeping him out of the lineup of last night’s contest. Friedman noted in his podcast that although no decision has been made, Vancouver could ask to withdraw from the tournament with Team USA to focus solely on getting healthy for their playoff run.
As arguably the team’s top defenseman, it would be a major blow to the American’s odds of winning the tournament. Still, Team USA has an easy choice for his replacement should he bow out in Washington Capitals’ blue liner, John Carlson.