Western Conference Notes: Eichel, Myers, Vilardi, Stankoven
Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel won’t make his return from injury on Saturday, says head coach Bruce Cassidy. His next chance to return will come when Vegas visits the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Eichel has been out since January 11th, missing the team’s last 18 games with a knee injury that required surgery. He made his return to the team’s practices on Wednesday, quickly upgrading to a full-contact jersey and nearing a return.
Eichel’s return will offer major relief to a Vegas lineup that’s gone 2-5-1 in their last eight games – with opponents outscoring the Golden Knights 31-to-27. Eichel is the only Golden Knight scoring above a point-per-game pace this season, with 44 points in 42 games. Vegas has set a much more commanding 24-13-5 record in games Eichel has been healthy for.
Other notes from around the league:
- Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers has been designated as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. Mark Friedman will slot into his spot in the lineup. That will bring Friedman up to 21 NHL games this season, spending much of the year as an injury fill-in. He’s managed just one assist alongside 21 penalty minutes and a +5. Myers has so far appeared in all 62 Canucks games this season – a feat that, impressively, eight different Canucks have managed, including three defensemen.
- Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi has returned to Winnipeg to seek further evaluation for an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s Thursday night loss to the Dallas Stars. Vilardi left the game after just 10 minutes of ice time. He missed Winnipeg’s Saturday morning win over the Carolina Hurricanes and will now miss one more game as the Jets round out their road trip on Sunday. Vilardi has scored 16 goals and 30 points in 38 games this season, though he’s been heavily limited by a string of injuries. The Jets have gone 26-10-2 in games Vilardi has appeared in this season.
- The Dallas Stars have recalled impressive rookie Logan Stankoven, who was briefly sent down to the minors after the team’s Thursday night game. But with this recall, Dallas shows that move was purely transactional, and that Stankoven will indeed continue in an NHL role after recording three goals and four points in his first four career games. Stankoven has also recorded 57 points in 47 games this season, battling for the league’s top scorer title all season long.
Golden Knights Recall Grigori Denisenko
The Golden Knights recalled right-winger Grigori Denisenko from AHL Henderson on Friday, per a team announcement. To open space on the active roster, the team returned rookie right-winger Jakub Demek to the minors.
Denisenko, 23, is the latest in a series of minor-league call-ups that’s seen time on the NHL roster with forwards William Carrier, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, and Mark Stone all out with injuries. He’s played in four games for Vegas this year, going without a point while averaging 9:57 per game.
A first-round pick of the Panthers in 2018, Denisenko signed a two-year, $1.55MM deal to remain in Florida after reaching restricted free agency last summer. However, he was claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights when the Panthers attempted to send him to the minors after he failed to make the team out of camp in October.
Vegas placed him on waivers again the day after claiming him, but Florida opted not to bring him back to the organization. As such, he was assigned to Henderson to begin the campaign, where he’s up to 14 goals and 40 points in 47 games on the season. It’s his best offensive showing since coming to North America in 2020, although it hasn’t yet translated into NHL success.
It’s unclear if Denisenko will slot into the lineup against the Sabres tomorrow or if the Golden Knights plan to keep him around as a 13th forward. If he draws in, it would be on their fourth line, currently staffed by a trio of AHL call-ups in Byron Froese, Mason Morelli, and Sheldon Rempal.
Meanwhile, Demek has yet to make his NHL debut after being recalled twice last month. The 6-foot-4 forward out of Slovakia has five goals and 13 points in 44 games for Henderson during his first professional season. Vegas selected him in the fourth round, 128th overall, in the 2021 draft.
Mark Stone Questionable To Return During Playoffs
Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is expected to miss the balance of the regular season and is questionable to return during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, TSN’s Darren Dreger said on Thursday’s episode of “Insider Trading.” Stone has missed four games with an upper-body injury, which, per multiple reports, is a lacerated spleen.
Vegas placed the 31-year-old on standard injured reserve last week, meaning they aren’t receiving the potential long-term injured reserve relief provided by his $9.5MM cap hit. That will change before the March 8 trade deadline, though, and they’ll be able to use that space as they please to make deadline acquisitions for the second straight season.
Unlike Stone, first-line center Jack Eichel and his $10MM cap hit is on LTIR. However, as indicated by wearing a full-contact sweater in practice Thursday, Eichel will return to the lineup in the coming days.
The Golden Knights, who have also been using the LTIR relief provided by goaltender Robin Lehner‘s $5MM cap hit to stay compliant throughout the season, will likely place Stone on LTIR along with activating Eichel in corresponding transactions when the latter is ready to return. The latter has missed 18 games after undergoing knee surgery in January.
Lost in the cap space shuffle is the significance of Stone’s absence. No player that GM Kelly McCrimmon could acquire over the next week will be an upgrade on their captain, who remains in a very elite class of two-way wingers. He finishes his season with 16 goals, 37 assists, 53 points, and a +1 rating in 56 games.
That works out to 0.95 points per game, his highest rate since his 61-in-55 campaign in 2020-21, which placed him ninth in Hart Trophy voting and third in Selke Trophy voting. Serious long-term and, frankly, random injuries continue to plague the Winnipeg-born star, who’s played more than 60 games in a season just once since arriving in Nevada.
Stone’s absence will mean an extended opportunity for many down the stretch, namely 2020 first-round pick Brendan Brisson. While his production with AHL Henderson this season has been disappointing, he has a goal and four assists in 11 showings with Vegas. He was promoted to the top line alongside original Knights William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault for last night’s 5-4 loss against the Bruins.
It also means that McCrimmon can be more aggressive in pursuing help at the deadline than his division rival and likely first-round playoff opponent, the Oilers. Dreger said McCrimmon “will utilize [Stone’s] cap space” to add another top-six forward, much like their pickup of Ivan Barbashev from the Blues at last year’s deadline.
Vegas and Edmonton will be in the hunt for many of the same targets, which Dreger says could include the Blues’ Pavel Buchnevich, the Kraken’s Jordan Eberle, and, if extension talks fall through, the Devils’ Tyler Toffoli. A third Pacific Division team, the Kings, has also been linked to Toffoli.
After swapping Eichel and Stone on LTIR (and activating defenseman Tobias Björnfot, currently on an LTI conditioning loan to Henderson), the Golden Knights will have approximately $5.6MM of cap space available. That’s nearly twice as much as the Oilers’ $2.4MM projected deadline availability, which is already artificially high given their slim 21-player roster.
For Vegas’ purposes, Buchnevich would be the closest stylistic replacement for Stone. He would also carry a higher acquisition cost and likely a minimal amount of salary retention by the Blues, as, unlike Eberle and Toffoli, he’s signed through next season at a cap hit of $5.8MM, slightly above the Golden Knights’ projected deadline availability.
Buchnevich, 28, leads the Blues in goals with 24 and is second on the team in scoring with 48 points in 57 games. He’s not producing at the point-per-game-plus pace we’ve seen from him over the past two years, but his possession impacts are the strongest of his eight-year career: an incredible 11% relative Corsi share at even strength to pair with a strong +6.9 expected rating. He wouldn’t replace the massive hole Stone’s leadership leaves in the chemistry of Vegas’ forward group, but his on-ice results go a long way toward softening the blow.
Snapshots: Johnson, Eichel, Gadjovich, Konecny
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson missed the team’s Thursday morning practice with an illness, team reporter Lance Lysowski shares. Johnson was also limited to just three minutes of ice time in Buffalo’s Tuesday night loss to the Florida Panthers. His availability for the team’s Thursday night game is uncertain.
Johnson has appeared in 50 games with the Sabres, scoring three goals and setting a -5. This season marks the first time that Johnson has scored a regular season goal since the 2021-22 season, when he netted eight in Colorado, though Johnson did score once in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The former first-overall pick is sitting at 970 career NHL games, though his 1,000th will have to wait until next season, with the Sabres left with 23 games this season. Johnson’s absence will likely pull rookie Ryan Johnson back into the lineup. Ryan Johnson has appeared in 37 games this season, recording seven assists and a +1. He’s still searching for his first goal as a pro hockey player, also yet to score in the AHL, where he’s tallied four assists in nine games.
Other notes from around the league:
- Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel has returned to full contact at practice, suggesting he’ll be ready to return soon. The team plays the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, and the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Eichel’s availability for these outings hasn’t been clarified yet. His return will be big news for Vegas, who just lost Mark Stone to a lacerated spleen. Eichel is Vegas’ last skater scoring above a point-per-game, with 19 goals and 44 points in 42 games.
- Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich will miss the team’s Thursday night game with a “minor” injury, per team reporter Colby Guy. Head coach Paul Maurice shared with Guy that he thinks Gadjovich will rehab quickly. The 25-year-old winger has four points and 90 penalty minutes in 31 games this season. He’s expected to be replaced by William Lockwood, who has one assist in 24 games of his own this season.
- Top Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny has not yet returned to the team’s practices. He’s missed the last three games with an upper-body injury, seemingly suffered at the team’s Friday practice, which Konecny left early. He’s been a force for Philadelphia when healthy, scoring 27 goals and 54 points in 57 games.
Afternoon Notes: Eichel, Monahan, Liljegren, Timmins
Star Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel returned to the team’s practices today, donning a no-contact jersey. It’s his first appearance on the ice since January 11th, as Eichel has been facing a knee injury that required surgery. The injury earned him a spot on long-term injured reserve in mid February, though he’s missed enough games to be eligible to return. Now in a no-contact jersey, it seems Eichel is just awaiting clearance to resume contact and a full practice. The 27-year-old has joined Vegas on their current four-game road trip across the Atlantic Division, which will feature a matchup against Eichel’s former Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. It’s not yet clear if he’ll be able to play in that matchup, though his return to practice suggests he’ll return soon.
Eichel’s return will illicit a big sigh of relief from Vegas’ top brass. The team recently lost star winger Mark Stone to a lacerated spleen that earned him a spot on injured reserve. Vegas is also down William Carrier, Brett Howden, and Pavel Dorofeyev – forcing the club to lean on depth options like Brendan Brisson, Byron Froese, and Sheldon Rempal.
In Eichel, Vegas is getting back their only player still scoring at, or above, a point-per-game pace. Eichel has 19 goals and 44 points through 42 games this season, while leading the team’s forwards in ice time. The Golden Knights will hope he can quickly bounce back to the role of lineup star and save them from the 1-4-1 stretch they find themselves on.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Winnipeg Jets are expecting Sean Monahan to slot back into the lineup, after missing the team’s Sunday game with illness, per team reporter Scott Billeck with the Winnipeg Sun. Monahan has played in eight games since being traded to the Winnipeg Jets, scoring five points but still searching for his first assist. The scoring brings Monahan’s totals up to 40 points in 57 games this season – the most he’s scored since the 2019-20 season.
- Timothy Liljegren is slated to miss the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Tuesday night game against the Vegas Golden Knights with an undisclosed injury, per head coach Sheldon Keefe. Keefe added that Liljegren got banged up in the team’s Saturday game against the Colorado Avalanche, with Liljegren leaving the bench later into the third period. The 24-year-old defenseman has 16 points across 40 games this season.
- Conor Timmins has returned to skating, though he’s not yet cleared to skate with the team, per team reporter David Alter. Timmins has been out since January 24th with mononucleosis. It’s another halt in Timmins’ season, which kicked off with a lower-body injury that held him out until late November. He’s since sat out due to being a healthy scratch and dealing with illness. Timmins, 25, has six points in 16 games this season.
Golden Knights Recall Jakub Demek, Place Brett Howden On IR
The Golden Knights recalled forward Jakub Demek from AHL Henderson on Friday, per a team announcement. Forward Brett Howden was moved to IR in a corresponding transaction, per CapFriendly.
Howden, 25, was scratched for last night’s 7-3 loss to the Maple Leafs and is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. As a result of today’s IR placement, he has been ruled out of the first two games of Vegas’ upcoming road trip and is eligible to return on Feb. 29 in Boston.
The 20-year-old Demek has never been recalled in his professional career. Selected by Vegas in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, the Slovak winger could be in line to make his NHL debut against the Senators on Saturday.
He’s currently listed as a projected scratch on CapFriendly’s depth chart for Vegas, but an already banged-up forward core got injured further when Paul Cotter took a hard hit from Toronto rookie Matthew Knies last night. Cotter finished the game, however, meaning Demek’s recall may be precautionary in case any other Vegas forwards come down with the injury bug in the next 48 hours.
Selected out of HC Kosice in the Slovak Extraliga, Demek came to North America after being picked up by Vegas in the Entry Draft and spent the following two seasons with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and Kamloops Blazers, playing in back-to-back Memorial Cups. He didn’t quite crack the point-per-game mark at the junior level but hovered near it and remains on track to deliver the expected value for his draft billing.
Now in his first professional season, Demek has five goals and 13 points through 44 games with the Silver Knights, along with a -5 rating. Vegas would rather let the 6-foot-4, 210-lb forward continue working with development staff in Henderson. However, injuries to five regular forwards (William Carrier, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Howden, and captain Mark Stone) have forced them to reach deep into their pool of minor-league players.
Demek is in the first season of his three-year, entry-level contract with a cap hit of $851,683. He remains waivers-exempt and will be an RFA in 2026.
Golden Knights Place Mark Stone On IR, Recall Three
3:30 PM: Mark Stone is dealing with a lacerated spleen, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Seravalli adds that a timeline would be hard to gauge for this injury, though Stone will likely miss significant time.
1:00 PM: The Vegas Golden Knights have placed star winger Mark Stone on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. In a corresponding move, the team recalled forwards Brendan Brisson, Byron Froese, and Sheldon Rempal from the minor leagues. They have also assigned forward Grigori Denisenko to the AHL. These roster moves will help Vegas fill the absences left by injuries to Stone, Jack Eichel, William Carrier, and Pavel Dorofeyev – all on IR. Vegas is also facing injury to Brett Howden, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury., per reports from SinBin Vegas.
The injury bug is fully hitting Vegas, forcing the team to dig deep into their depth. Each of Brisson, Froese, and Rempal have played in a few NHL games this season, with Brisson leading the group in scoring with one goal and three points. Rempal has scored two goals as well, while Froese is searching for his first point of the season. The trio is a part of 19 different forwards that have played for the Golden Knights this season.
Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon recently went onto Pierre McGuire’s podcast and shared that Jack Eichel and William Carrier are nearing a return. Vegas will hope those returns come as soon as possible, now with both of their top two scorers in Stone and Eichel facing injury questions. Eichel is the only Golden Knight still scoring above a point-per-game pace, with 19 goals and 44 points in 42 games. He’s recovering from a knee injury that’s earned him a place on long-term injured reserve and has held him out since mid-January.
Golden Knights’ Mark Stone To Be Out “A While” With Injury
Star Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone will be “out for a while” per general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who shared the update with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy on the latest episode of The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test. McCrimmon added some good news, saying that Jack Eichel and William Carrier are nearing a return.
Stone suffered an apparent upper-body injury in the team’s Tuesday night game against the Nashville Predators, after receiving a big hit from Yakov Trenin. Trenin earned an interference penalty on the play. Stone’s injury is a tremendous loss for the Golden Knights. The 31-year-old winger currently leads the team in scoring, with 16 goals and 53 points through 56 games. It’s yet another successful season for Stone, who has totaled 256 points in 274 games since joining the Golden Knights in 2018-19. Unfortunately, productivity isn’t the only consistent for Stone – as he is yet again facing long-term injury in the second half of the season. Stone has had an upper-body injury hold him out from February to April in each of the last two seasons, earning a spot on injured reserve each time. Vegas will hope lightning doesn’t strike for a third time this season, with Stone so far remaining off of IR.
If Vegas does lose Stone, they’ll quickly turn their towards Jack Eichel, who has been out of action since January 11th with a knee injury. Eichel was moved to long-term injured reserve on Monday, though he has already missed the required amount of time and will be eligible to return as soon as he’s healthy. He has been Vegas’ most-productive scorer, operating as the only Golden Knight scoring above a point-per-game pace with 19 goals and 44 points through 42 games. Eichel has also been consistently limited by injury, with 67 games last season marking the most he’s played in one year since the 2019-20 campaign. He’ll have a chance to beat that mark by one game, with 26 games remaining on Vegas’ schedule, though he’d have to return on Thursday to maintain that pace.
Minor Transactions: 2/20/24
While we wait for the trade market to pick up with the deadline now less than three weeks away, there still have been plenty of transactions but largely of the minor variety. Here’s a rundown of some recent moves with NHL ties.
- Logan Stankoven’s NHL debut will have to wait. After being recalled earlier today for precautionary reasons, the Stars announced (Twitter link) that the 20-year-old was returned to AHL Texas. Stankoven has been dominant in his first professional campaign, notching 24 goals and 33 assists in 46 games to lead the AHL in scoring.
- The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that they’ve re-assigned center Byron Froese to AHL Henderson. The 32-year-old played in two games with Vegas on this latest recall, bringing his season total to nine although he’s still looking for his first point. Froese has 15 points in 37 games so far with the Silver Knights.
- Artem Anisimov’s time in the Rangers organization has come to an end as he was released from his PTO with AHL Hartford, per a team release. The 35-year-old joined the Wolf Pack early last month and got into 18 games but managed just a goal and three assists. A veteran of 771 career NHL games, it looks unlikely that Anisimov will be adding to that total.
- A trio of former NHL players are sticking around in Switzerland as Fribourg-Gotteron of the NL recently announced that forwards Lucas Wallmark, Marcus Sorensen, and Jacob de La Rose have all signed two-year extensions through the 2026-27 season. Each player last saw time at the NHL level back in the 2020-21 campaign with de la Rose having the most experience, suiting up in 242 games between Montreal, Detroit, and St. Louis.
Golden Knights Activate Shea Theodore
The Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Shea Theodore off the LTIR (CapFriendly) as he is set to return from a 34-game absence. The 28-year-old was on a tear to start the season but suffered an upper-body injury and has not played since November 22nd. Theodore didn’t play today but could dress tomorrow night when the Golden Knights take on the Nashville Predators. To make room for Theodore the Golden Knights have moved Jack Eichel to the LTIR (CapFriendly).
Theodore had four goals and 14 assists in 20 games to begin the season and looked poised to have a big year before the injury. Vegas has missed having Theodore in their top four as they have posted a 17-13-4 record in his absence.
His return will be a big addition for a team that currently holds a 31-17-6 record and sits in second place in the Pacific Division. Theodore has typically averaged between 21-23 minutes a game over the past few seasons and will likely move back into his role in the Golden Knights top four as well as on the team’s top power-play unit.
Theodore is in the sixth year of a 7-year, $36.4MM contract and has remained very productive throughout the deal but has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons. If he can remain healthy over the next year he will be in line for a massive payday in the summer of 2025.