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West Notes: Predators, Pietrangelo, Oettinger

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The Nashville Predators home game tomorrow against the Anaheim Ducks will go on as scheduled after a water main break in the arena forced the team to postpone their Friday and Saturday night games. While team president Sean Henry said that “most fan-facing amenities will be functional,” he noted that the complete extent of repairs and restorations to Bridgestone will take months.

The league has yet to reschedule Nashville’s missed games against Colorado and Columbus, but Bridgestone will get a bit of a break on the hockey side soon. While there are occasional concerts there, Nashville’s home game against Anaheim is their last until December 9.

  • According to the team, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo didn’t suit up for tonight’s game against Columbus for personal reasons. Pietrangelo is having an electric start to his third season in Vegas with 21 points through 23 games. Hopefully, everything is well with Pietrangelo and his family.
  • Jake Oettinger was expected to start tonight for the Dallas Stars, but he’ll be relegated to a backup role as he deals with an illness, according to the team. He’s run into a bit of a cold streak his past few games, with his season totals dropping to a still very respectable .917 save percentage and 2.52 goals-against average. He’ll likely start in Dallas’ next matchup against Anaheim on December 1.

Forward Notes: Iafallo, Howden, Balcers

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Some good news is coming in the future for the Los Angeles Kings. LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley reports that Alex Iafallo has resumed skating on his own, although head coach Todd McLellan said he “won’t be in the lineup for a little while.”

Iafallo has missed 19 games so far this year with a lower-body injury. He remains week-to-week, and it’s likely another week or two at least before he returns. When he does, though, it’ll be a huge boost for a Kings team still in the playoff mix. The 28-year-old had five points through his first four games and remains a valuable top-nine piece in LA.

  • Vegas Golden Knights forward Brett Howden is out tonight against the Vancouver Canucks after sustaining a lower-body injury in Thursday’s contest against Ottawa. Head coach Bruce Cassidy still isn’t sure about his return, but he said Howden likely won’t travel on the team’s upcoming road trip. That would put him out for at least four games, potentially returning on December 7 against his former team, the New York Rangers.
  • A recent pickup by the Tampa Bay Lightning is set to miss a few games. Forward Rudolfs Balcers, claimed on waivers from Florida earlier in the season, is unlikely to play on the team’s upcoming road trip, according to head coach Jon Cooper. The Bolts’ upcoming three-game swing sees them take on the Sabres, Bruins, and Flyers. Balcers has averaged under seven minutes per game in Tampa and has a goal in his first three Lightning appearances.

Latest On Brett Howden

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  • The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that forward Brett Howden will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. No further details beyond that were released. Howden, 24, has been a bottom-six forward for the Golden Knights this season and has three points 21 games.

Nicolas Roy Out Day-To-Day

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  • Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto has yet to skate since suffering an undisclosed injury in a 7-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on November 10, according to head coach Jay Woodcroft. Woodcroft called the young forward day-to-day, but said it was doubtful he’d play Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Yamamoto has a paltry three assists through 13 games this season despite receiving top-six minutes.
  • On the other side of that matchup, Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy doesn’t expect forward Nicolas Roy to travel today with the team to Edmonton. The 25-year-old is out with a lower-body injury suffered in their last game and is day-to-day. He’s been an important depth scoring piece for Vegas to start the year, notching four goals and seven assists in 18 games.

Laurent Brossoit Clears Waivers

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Nov 11: Brossoit has cleared waivers and can remain with the Henderson Silver Knights.

Nov 10: The Vegas Golden Knights had a roster crunch coming, as Laurent Brossoit inched closer to a return from injury. The team had two goaltenders – Logan Thompson and Adin Hill – playing outstanding hockey, with only the former waiver-exempt. Instead of moving one of them out, they’ve decided to risk Brossoit today, placing him on waivers according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets.

Brossoit, 29, is coming back from hip surgery and has played two games with the Henderson Silver Knights on a conditioning loan. His placement on waivers today indicates that he is healthy enough to be activated, and suggests that he will be headed back to Henderson if he clears.

It won’t just be the injury that makes teams hesitate to claim Brossoit. He has a $2.325MM cap hit this season in the final year of his deal and he was brutal in the conditioning games, allowing nine goals on 39 shots. For someone to invest in him now, it would mean keeping him on the NHL roster. Even last season didn’t go well, with Brossoit posting an .895 in 24 games for Vegas.

More likely he’ll end up piecing his game back together in the minor leagues and waiting for another opportunity with the Golden Knights. Thompson and Hill are anything but proven at this point, so even if they are playing well there’s no guarantee it continues. Having a veteran option like Brossoit would be ideal for a club like Vegas which has its eyes set on the Stanley Cup once again.

Laurent Brossoit Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The goaltending issues that the Vegas Golden Knights were expected to face when Robin Lehner was ruled out for the season have certainly not materialized. The duo of Adin Hill and Logan Thompson have been almost perfect, posting a combined save percentage of .941 through ten games.

Hill, acquired from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round pick before the season began, is 4-0 and has allowed just seven goals on 123 shots. Thompson, the de facto starter, leads the league with two shutouts in his first six games.

With those two playing at such a high level, it will make for an interesting decision when Laurent Brossoit is healthy enough to play again. The veteran netminder took a step toward that goal today when he was loaned to the Henderson Silver Knights on a long-term injury conditioning stint. Brossoit is coming off hip surgery and there is no concrete timeline for his return to NHL action.

A LTIR conditioning loan is usually limited to three games or six days, though it can be extended in certain circumstances. When it is over, Brossoit does not necessarily need to be activated.

Remember, the Golden Knights are also right up against the cap, meaning activating Brossoit will be a tricky game for the team to play. They will likely have to reduce their roster to fewer than 23 players, plus figure out what to do with their three goaltenders. Brossoit himself might end up on waivers, or even traded, given the performance of Hill and Thompson so far.

That bridge doesn’t have to be crossed yet, but if he proves himself healthy enough to return, it’s coming soon.

Foley Gives Vote Of Confidence To McCrimmon And McPhee

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It has been an eventful first few seasons in the NHL for the Golden Knights.  Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year but they haven’t made it back since while the team has made several shakeup trades plus a pair of coaching changes.  Despite the heavy turnover, owner Bill Foley told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun that he has full confidence in the management team of GM Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee:

With Robin Lehner being out for the season, expectations were a little lower heading into this year.  However, the tandem of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill has fared quite well so far with the Golden Knights allowing the fewest goals in the league heading into today’s action.  That has them in first in the Pacific in the early going but with only $16 in LTIR space left, they’ll be hard-pressed to add to their roster.

Phil Kessel To Tie Consecutive Games Streak

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  • Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel will tie the NHL consecutive games streak tonight, when he takes on his old club the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran forward will play his 989th straight game, matching the record set by Keith Yandle. The last time Kessel missed a game was his first year with the Maple Leafs, back in 2009-10. He is also just 43 points away from 1,000 for his career.

Laurent Brossoit Will Be Re-Evaluated On November 1st

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  • When the news broke that Robin Lehner would miss the entire 2022-23 season, the Vegas Golden Knights goaltending situation, and ultimately their season, was heavily doubted. Thus far, the 4-1-0 Golden Knights have received more than solid goaltending from rookie Logan Thompson and the recently acquired Adin Hill, and that is without veteran netminder Laurent Brossoit, who is still recovering from injury. A return timetable for Brossoit was unclear heading into the season, though not expected to be long-term. His return is still unclear though, says the Las Vegas Sun’s Danny Webster. Brossoit has not been cleared for any contact, but is progressing well and will be re-evaluated on November 1st, Webster reports.

Salary Cap Could Increase More Than Expected In 2023

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Speaking with the media today, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said there’s a “good probability” that the remaining COVID-related escrow balance could be paid by the players this season, and remains optimistic about revenues. If the escrow balance gets paid off, the salary cap could jump more than the predicted $1MM incremental increase, two years sooner than originally expected coming out of the pandemic.

Bettman did note that it would be a close call, but if the revenue numbers hit, the cap could jump roughly $4MM to a figure of around $86.5MM for the 2023-24 season. The league’s cap growth would then mirror pre-pandemic trends, if not more.

This is gigantic news for a number of teams, especially those who have big-name free agents due for contracts by July 1 of next year. It also bodes well for teams tight to the salary cap to be able to have more roster flexibility in the offseason.

That list of big-name unrestricted free agents next summer is no joke, and a ~$4MM salary cap increase would have a massive effect on many negotiations. Ryan O’Reilly in St. Louis, David Pastrnak in Boston, Dylan Larkin in Detroit, Bo Horvat in Vancouver, and Frederik Andersen in Carolina are some notables who could re-sign with their current teams for a big payday.

It also makes life easier for teams like the Vegas Golden Knights, who are poised to get a healthy Robin Lehner back but already remain well over the currently projected $83.5MM salary cap for 2023-24.

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