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Ilya Mikheyev Out Week-To-Week

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Sep 29: After initial fears that he may have suffered a torn ACL, it looks as though Mikheyev avoided serious injury altogether. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that he had two opinions and could resume skating as soon as tomorrow.

Sep 27: One of the big free agent signings for the Vancouver Canucks is in danger of missing the start of the season, as Ilya Mikheyev is out “week-to-week” according to head coach Bruce Boudreau. Mikheyev suffered a lower-body injury in his preseason debut with the team on Sunday.

Signed to a four-year, $19MM contract in the offseason after a 21-goal campaign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mikheyev has been one of the impressive players at Canucks camp, with J.T. Miller referring to the Russian’s speed as “humbling.” The 27-year-old forward has had some pretty unfortunate injury luck in his short NHL career so far, including a sliced wrist and a broken thumb.

That has limited him to just 146 regular season games in three years, though it was his production in those matches and his versatile profile that made him such an appealing target in free agency. With 21 goals in just 53 games last season, he is the kind of perfect secondary scoring option that teams crave. His speed, length, and puck protection make him a great option on the penalty kill, and he can often create offense without the help of teammates.

Still, at some point, he’s going to need to be able to put together a full campaign, especially now that he is carrying a cap hit of $4.75MM. The Canucks need him to be everything he was last season and more if they are going to get their money’s worth, especially given he will play this season at 28 and the final season of this contract at 31. The hope was that they were buying his best years – a weeks-long injury isn’t a great start.

Given the team will also be without Brock Boeser after he underwent hand surgery, there will be plenty of minutes up for grabs in Vancouver.

Brock Boeser Undergoes Hand Surgery

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After signing a new three-year, $19.95MM contract this summer, there was plenty of excitement around a potential bounce-back season for Brock Boeser and the Vancouver Canucks. Unfortunately, his debut will have to wait, as Boeser suffered a hand injury at practice on Saturday and underwent surgery today. He is out for three to four weeks.

The 2021-22 season was something of a disappointment for Boeser, who dealt with injury and the death of his father. He still scored 23 goals in 71 games, but his 46 points were the worst per-game pace of his career. With contract security in tow, it seemed likely that he could make it back to the dynamic offensive piece he was in years past.

Now, with another training camp disrupted by injury, it’s not clear what the Canucks will receive from Boeser for the first part of the year at least. A hand injury is certainly not what you want to hear for a player that relies so much on his shot, but hopefully, the three-week timeline has him back on the ice after missing just a few games.

With Boeser out – and Ilya Mikheyev, who is still being evaluated – there will be some minutes up for grabs in the top six. General manager Jim Rutherford did tell Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV today that Nils Hoglander has impressed him, and that Andrei Kuzmenko still has some adjustments to make with the North American game.

Vancouver Canucks Activate Nils Hoglander, Tucker Poolman Off Of IR

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  • A number of players have been officially activated off of injured-reserve today. Though many of these are not a surprise, some did come with question marks and in the wake of the recent injury updates around the league, particularly Sean Couturier of the Flyers, not everything can always be taken as a given. The Pittsburgh Penguins activated recently-signed forward Drake Caggiula (link). Moving out west, the Vancouver Canucks have activated forward Nils Hoglander and defenseman Tucker Poolman off of IR (link). In the desert, the Vegas Golden Knights activated forwards Brett Howden and Reilly Smith (link).

Hurricanes Shopping Ethan Bear

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Earlier this summer, Carolina gave Ethan Bear permission to speak to other teams heading into restricted free agency.  At the time, it seemed like he was a candidate to be non-tendered but in the end, the Hurricanes qualified him and signed the 25-year-old to a one-year, $2.2MM deal.  However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that even with the new contract, Carolina is still trying to move the young defender.

Last season was a tough one for Bear.  After being a regular in a top-four role for Edmonton back in 2019-20, he battled some injury issues the following season and dropped down the depth chart which helped contribute to him being traded to Carolina a few days after the draft in 2021.  The hope was that he’d rebound but instead, history repeated itself.  Bear was banged up at times last season and when he was in the lineup, he struggled.  Overall, he had five goals and nine assists in 58 games with a career-low 16:05 ATOI.  While he underwent a minor procedure after the playoffs, Bear was available to play if needed but was scratched for every contest.

In a recent appearance on CHEK (video link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks are among the teams that have shown interest in Bear.  There is a definite opening on the right side of their back end but making the money work could be tricky.  They’re less than a million below their LTIR ceiling (with Micheal Ferland not playing again this season) which is considerably less space than Bear’s contract.  Tucker Poolman’s availability for the start of the year is in question but he’s expected back at some point which takes the option of adding Bear to slide into Poolman’s vacated spot off the table as well.

Meanwhile, Carolina has no such cap concerns.  With Max Pacioretty and Jake Gardiner LTIR-bound to start the season, they have the ability to find him in without an issue.  However, Dylan Coghlan is also in the fold and could push for a spot on the third pairing which could have Bear on the fringes of the lineup once again; Brett Pesce and Brent Burns are clearly locked into the right-side spots on the top two pairings already.  By qualifying him, the Hurricanes determined that there was still some value but if he sits a lot early on, that will change in a hurry.

Whether it’s Vancouver or another team, it looks like Bear is a candidate to be on the move over the coming weeks and with the situation he’ll likely be in with Carolina where he’ll be battling for a spot in the lineup, it might be a move that the Hurricanes will want to make sooner than later.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Afternoon Notes: Crosby, Allvin, O’Reilly

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When the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to extensions this summer, they committed themselves to a “win-now” short-term competitive plan, focusing the energy and resources of their franchise into squeezing one last Stanley Cup victory out of their three franchise pillars. The face of the franchise, Sidney Crosby, has three years remaining on his current contract, and as things currently stand he’s not thinking beyond that point.

In an interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek for their 32 Thoughts Podcast, Crosby was asked about his playing future and whether he’d like to play into his forties as Zdeno Chara has. Crosby responded that he wouldn’t, and added on that he’s “thinking about [the] three more years” remaining on his contract before considering the next step for his career. At 35 years old, Crosby isn’t “Sid the Kid” anymore, but he did score 84 points in 69 games last year and remains an elite player. But based on these comments, the Penguins will need to consider that Crosby may not be playing for the entirety of Malkin or Letang’s new extensions.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin has been a busy man this summer, signing major contracts with J.T. Miller, Ilya Mikheyev, and Andrei Kuzmenko. And despite the fact that training camps are close, he may not be done. In a conversation with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, Allvin stated that the team would still be looking to add to its current group of players, saying that there is enough “cap space, and roster spots, and contract slots” to be able to facilitate an addition. (subscription link) We’re certainly late into the offseason free agent market, but with the preseason waiver wire set to be active and a few free agents still remaining, it’s possible that the Canucks get a new face or two into the mix before they open their 2022-23 campaign.
  • The St. Louis Blues have signed some major extensions recently, specifically with their two top young players: Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. While the Blues are undoubtedly better off having signed those deals, they could come with a cost. As Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the byproduct of these extensions is that the team could find it difficult to match the sort of offer captain Ryan O’Reilly could receive on the open market. Since both O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko will be unrestricted free agents next summer, the Blues seem to have made retaining their two franchise pillars a more difficult task with their recent moves.

Canucks Could Shift Elias Pettersson Back To Center

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  • The Canucks are leaning towards using Elias Pettersson back at center this season instead of keeping him on the left wing, notes Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. Head coach Bruce Boudreau feels that Vancouver’s additions up front – including wingers Ilya Mikheyev and Andrei Kuzmenko – give them the potential for three scoring lines.  If Pettersson does indeed shift back down the middle, that will only boost his value heading into extension talks next summer as centers often cost a premium to sign long-term.

Finding A Match For A Nils Lundkvist Trade

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With Rangers prospect Nils Lundkvist’s trade request now well-known, efforts continue to find the youngster a new home for the upcoming season.  If the belief that he won’t attend training camp in New York holds true, that could be a trigger point for GM Chris Drury to avoid any distractions heading into camp while getting a chance to integrate whichever player or prospect they get for the rearguard at training camp.

With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the potential suitors for Lundkvist.  Since he’s looking for a team that will have a chance to give him an NHL opportunity in the short-term, the focus will be on those squads although there undoubtedly will be others that will kick the tires.  Los Angeles is a team that has been speculated as a landing spot with their deep prospect pool but they don’t really have an opening on the right side of their back end for him to slide into so they don’t appear among the teams below.

Detroit: The Red Wings have two right-side rearguards in place in Calder winner Moritz Seider and young veteran Filip Hronek.  There are questions behind those two, however.  Gustav Lindstrom has yet to establish himself as a full-time player while Mark Pysyk will miss the first half of the season after undergoing surgery in July to repair a torn Achilles tendon.  If Lundkvist was to go there and do well, it could free them up to move Hronek who is the type of blueliner that could yield a nice return for the Red Wings.

Detroit has a couple of young centers that the Rangers would likely show some interest in.  One is Joe Veleno who is close to being ready for full-time duty while Jonatan Berggren, who was picked just five spots after Lundkvist in 2018, had a very promising first season in North America in 2021-22.  They also have an extra second-round pick at their disposal if New York ultimately decides that a draft pick is the right return.  Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported a few days ago (subscription link) that at least one team had a second-rounder on the table in an offer for the blueliner.

Montreal: At the moment, the right side of the back end for the Canadiens is David Savard, Justin Barron, and Chris Wideman.  The only established full-time player out of that group is Savard.  Montreal is likely to use several prospects throughout the season (Jordan Harris and Kaiden Guhle among them) but those are left-shot options, not righties like Lundkvist.  It’s plausible that Lundkvist could jump into their lineup right away.  Jeff Gorton, who was GM at the time Lundkvist was drafted, now works in Montreal’s front office.

While the Rangers wouldn’t be likely to get a return that could help them right away, Montreal’s prospect pool is one of the deeper ones around the league with recent center picks like Jan Mysak, Owen Beck, and Riley Kidney potentially being of interest.  They could also deal from the left side of their defensive pool if New York would prefer a defenseman in return with Harris, Mattias Norlinder, and prospect Jayden Struble being possible options.

San Jose: The only established must-play right-shot defender on their roster is Erik Karlsson.  Matthew Benning got a four-year deal but could bounce in and out of the lineup while Ryan Merkley could stand to spend more time in the minors before becoming an everyday regular.  With Brent Burns not really being replaced after his trade to Carolina, there’s a definite need for a second defenseman to help shoulder the offensive load.  Worth noting, one of New York’s former top scouts, Chris Morehouse, is now heading up San Jose’s amateur scouting ranks.  He wasn’t there when Lundkvist was drafted but he’ll have some extra familiarity with the blueliner.

Center Thomas Bordeleau didn’t look out of place in his brief NHL stint late last season and acquitted himself well at the World Championship as well and is the type of young center that might entice the Rangers.  Merkley himself could be an option if Drury decides to look for a similar player, one that will be more amenable to being in the minors to start the season.  The Sharks don’t have an extra second-round pick but the one that they do have projects to be a good one based on the state of their roster heading into training camp.

Seattle: While the addition of Justin Schultz lessens their need for an extra offensive defenseman, the third RD spot is far from secure with William Borgen spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch last season.  That’s a spot that Lundkvist could conceivably battle for or least position himself to be the first one recalled.

The Kraken don’t have the deepest of prospect pools to work with since they’ve only been around for two drafts but they do have three second-rounders for the 2023 draft.  Parting with one for a potentially near-ready young defenseman would be a defensible move for the second-year squad.

Vancouver: The Canucks have been busy this summer when it comes to their forward group but nothing has been done with their back end yet and it’s not for a lack of trying.  Vancouver already has an offensive weapon in Quinn Hughes but someone like Lundkvist could potentially help run a second power play group and perhaps take some minutes from veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson who is getting near the point where he will need to be managed more carefully.  With Tucker Poolman’s availability uncertain for training camp, there’s a spot on the right side of their back end up for grabs.

As for possible trade options, Linus Karlsson is coming off a strong SHL season and shouldn’t be too far away from being NHL-ready which would give New York another option down the middle.  Alternatively, winger Nils Hoglander is someone that, on the surface, might be on the fringes of making Vancouver’s roster with their additions on the wing.  Perhaps there’s a trade to be made featuring those two?

Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list and other teams will inquire but if Lundkvist and agent Claude Lemieux’s intention is to have him start the upcoming season in the NHL, that does limit the number of viable opportunities for a trade if the Rangers decide to move him before training camp.

They don’t have to move Lundkvist, however.  He’s still waiver-exempt and even if he doesn’t want to report to the minors, they can send him there and suspend him for not reporting.  If it’s going to be more of a drawn-out process, a loan overseas (as they did last year with Vitali Kravtsov) is also on the table.  There are certainly non-trade options they’ll want to consider but if they do decide to go ahead with a trade, they’ll have some viable teams to consider.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canucks Will Reportedly Play Pettersson, Miller, and Horvat As Centers Next Season

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  • The Vancouver Canucks made headlines when they signed center J.T. Miller to a long-term extension, and the deal left many wondering if Elias Pettersson’s future was on the wing, since it was presumed that the Canucks would opt to keep Miller and Bo Horvat as centers. While that was a reasonable thing to wonder, it seems that the Canucks are planning to play Pettersson as a center for next season. Per Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau plans on deploying Miller, Horvat, and Pettersson as centers, believing that he is able to do so thanks to the team’s “upgraded top-nine.” Pettersson’s last two seasons have been rockier than he’d likely have hoped, so the Canucks are seemingly hoping that allowing Pettersson to center and drive his own line will help stabilize his game.

Coyotes, Blue Jackets Sign Players To PTOs

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7:52 PM: The Coyotes have confirmed Chiasson’s invitation while also noting that goaltender Christopher Gibson has also inked a PTO.  The 29-year-old spent last season with AHL Charlotte, posting a 2.80 GAA and a .907 SV% in 14 games.  Gibson has 16 career NHL appearances between the Islanders and Lightning.

5:33 PM: Per CapFriendly, the Arizona Coyotes have signed forward Alex Chiasson to a PTO, while the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Victor Rask and defenseman Ben Harpur to PTOs.

Chiasson, now 31, has a legit shot at not only getting a contract, but playing a top-nine role if things go well. With far more offensive upside than players currently slated to play top-nine roles in Arizona like Nick Ritchie and Christian Fischer, he could get a decent amount of playing time on the power play as well and provide solid value on a cheap contract for Arizona. Playing just 11:37 per game last season with the Vancouver Canucks, Chiasson scored 13 goals in 67 games, six of which came on the power play. He’s not exactly an impact player at both ends of the ice, but he’s been a solid depth scoring option now for multiple seasons. With Arizona simply needing more NHL players in their lineup, signing Chiasson should be a no-brainer.

The opposite is true for the Blue Jackets, who have a bit of a logjam at the bottom of both their forward and defense depth charts. Harpur would be a solid addition to the top-four in AHL Cleveland if he does get a deal, but Rask will have much more competition for a roster spot amongst Columbus’ young forwards. With players like Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov, Kent Johnson, and others poised to be full-time NHLers next season, Rask will really need to have a strong camp in order to earn a deal (if he wants an NHL role, that is).

Latest On Bo Horvat

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If there was any concern that Bo Horvat was the one holding up any extension talks with the Vancouver Canucks, he put it to rest today. Horvat explained to the media including Thomas Drance of The Athletic that he wants to be a part of the Canucks long-term, and that he is leaving the negotiation up to his agents without putting a deadline on the talks.

Horvat, 27, is signed through the end of 2022-23 at a $5.5MM cap hit, the final season in a six-year, $33MM contract he inked in 2017. The two-way center was named the 14th captain in franchise history in 2019 at the age of 24, following Henrik Sedin’s tenure with the “C.”

It seemed earlier this summer like an extension was inevitable but after the team handed seven years and $56MM to J.T. Miller, some have wondered whether the Canucks would be able to fit Horvat in on a long-term deal.

The good thing in this scenario is that there doesn’t appear to be any rush from either side. Sometimes, players put a deadline of the beginning of the season on negotiations, not wanting to have any conversations while they are playing. That’s what happened with the Calgary Flames and Johnny Gaudreau, for instance, leaving a short window after the year ended to try and get something done before the star forward reached free agency.

If Horvat hasn’t put a timeline on things, there will be more space to breathe for the Canucks and time to move in a different direction if necessary. Still, if an extension isn’t worked out in the next few weeks, plenty of questions will follow Horvat throughout the year.

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