Shea Theodore Shouldn't Be Out Too Long
- The Golden Knights were without Shea Theodore in Thursday’s victory over Detroit but it doesn’t appear as if he’ll be out for too long. Head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters including David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that while there was no timeline for his return, he is progressing well and was supposed to get a full practice in Friday. Theodore hit his head off the boards on Tuesday and at this point, it seems like he’ll be listed as day-to-day.
Injury Notes: Hayes, Golden Knights, Carrier
Center Kevin Hayes didn’t take warmups and isn’t playing for the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as originally reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach Alain Vigneault originally expected Hayes to play and he nor the team have yet to offer an update on Hayes’ absence. Max Willman was recalled from Lehigh Valley today under emergency conditions and is in the lineup for that game. Hayes has two points in two games this season after missing the team’s first 12 games while recovering from offseason core muscle surgery.
More injury notes from around the NHL:
- The injury parade continues for the Vegas Golden Knights, as The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports defenseman Shea Theodore is unlikely to suit up for Thursday’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Theodore fell awkwardly during the Knights’ last game Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, a 4-2 loss. The team hasn’t moved Theodore to injured reserve, but he joins Alec Martinez on the list of Golden Knights defensemen absent from the lineup. However, Granger notes that Zach Whitecloud is “progressing quickly” and could potentially suit up for the Detroit game.
- Per Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes, defenseman Alexandre Carrier could return to the team’s lineup Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Carrier isn’t on injured reserve, but he’s been out of the lineup for the past week with an undisclosed injury. In 13 games this season, the 25-year-old has five points while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.
Michael Amadio Added To COVID Protocol
Another Vegas Golden Knight is now unavailable to the team, as Michael Amadio has been placed in the COVID protocol. His designation further explains why the team claimed Adam Brooks off waivers today, as they continue to deal with injuries and COVID-related absences this season. The team has also canceled their media availability for this afternoon.
Amadio joins William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault in the protocol, meaning the team is down three forwards in addition to Max Pacioretty, Nolan Patrick, and Jack Eichel who are on injured reserve. The team hasn’t had a full roster all season and saw their winning streak snapped last night by the Carolina Hurricanes.
In that game, Amadio played 13 minutes of ice time. The team has not confirmed whether or not he has tested positive for coronavirus, but he will be unavailable for the time being. If he has tested positive and presents any symptoms, he’ll be kept out for a minimum of 10 days. The Golden Knights are currently scheduled to play tomorrow against the Detroit Red Wings, who had their own key player enter the COVID protocol last night.
Vegas Golden Knights Claim Adam Brooks
The Vegas Golden Knights have added a depth forward, claiming Adam Brooks off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
This is the second player to start the year with the Toronto Maple Leafs and end up with Vegas through waivers, as Brooks will re-join Michael Amadio with the Golden Knights. Today’s claim comes from the Canadiens though, where Brooks played four games after being snatched earlier this season.
The 25-year-old forward has experience at wing and his natural center position but has only suited up for 22 regular season games to this point. There is real skill in the former Regina Pats superstar, but Brooks has been limited to bottom-six roles to this point. Perhaps Vegas, who are dealing with several injuries and COVID absences, will give him a shot in more offensive opportunities in the coming days.
It’s an interesting connection between Brooks and Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. The former is from Manitoba and played his junior hockey in Saskatchewan, while the latter is from Saskatchewan and ran the Brandon Wheat Kings in Manitoba for decades. In fact, McCrimmon would have seen Brooks up close and personal during his breakout 2015-16 season, when he scored 120 points in 72 games in the WHL.
Jonathan Marchessault Placed In COVID Protocol
Things are going from bad to worse for the Vegas Golden Knights. The team has placed Jonathan Marchessault in the COVID protocol, making him unavailable for the time being. He joins William Carrier, who was put in the protocol yesterday. In their place, Paul Cotter and Sven Baertschi have been recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights.
Notably, not only was Marchessault active against the Vancouver Canucks a few days ago, but he also attended the Las Vegas Raiders game on Sunday alongside Robin Lehner. For now, the team appears to have their starting goaltender available for tonight’s matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, but an outbreak in the Golden Knights room would devastating for a team that has already dealt with major injury issues this season.
In fact, it was only a few days ago that the team’s captain, Mark Stone, returned to the lineup after missing a good chunk of the early season. Max Pacioretty, Zach Whitecloud, and Nolan Patrick are still sidelined, along with the newly acquired Jack Eichel.
Perhaps that’s a silver lining, in that several young players have already had to step up early on. Cotter, for instance, made his NHL debut and scored one goal in two appearances, just a few years after going in the fourth round. He’ll get another opportunity now with Marchessault out, though his fellow call-up certainly has the experience factor. Baertschi has 291 regular season games under his belt and was even an 18-goal scorer in 2016-17 with the Vancouver Canucks. The 29-year-old has eight points in 12 games with Henderson this season as he tries to climb his way back to the NHL.
William Carrier Placed In COVID Protocol
It seems like everyday teams are adding players to the COVID protocol, and the Vegas Golden Knights are the latest to do so. William Carrier is unavailable for the team today as he has been placed in the protocol.
The team has not confirmed whether or not Carrier tested positive for coronavirus, or how long the forward is expected to be out. For now, at least, they’ll have to prepare as though he will not be available for them tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes. They will also be without Alec Martinez, who was cut by Brandon Duhaime‘s skate last week and is out for tomorrow night. Chandler Stephenson and Mattias Janmark, the other two absences from practice, had maintenance days according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic.
Vegas is on a hot streak of late, going 8-2 in their last ten after a rocky start. Carrier is a legitimate part of that success, despite the fact that he averages fewer than 12 minutes a night. His physicality is a constant for the Golden Knights, and he’s even contributed with a little offense this season, adding two assists in his last game. He’s missed the last two though, meaning the team won’t have to make substantial changes to the lineup with him now in the protocol.
Mark Stone Removed From Injured Reserve
The Vegas Golden Knights are set to get their captain back, as Mark Stone has been removed from injured reserve on the NHL media site. Earlier today, head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters including Jesse Granger of The Athletic that Stone would be a game-time decision tonight.
If the Golden Knights do get Stone back tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, it will be his first appearance in a month. The 29-year-old forward left a game against the Los Angeles Kings on October 14 and has been absent ever since. After registering three assists in the season opener, Stone looked like he was ready to repeat an impressive performance from 2020-21, when he scored 21 goals and 61 points in just 55 games. That was the first point-per-game season of his career (though he’s been very close previously), and earned him a top-10 finish in the Hart Trophy voting.
It’s not only his point production that has been missing from the Golden Knights lineup though. Stone’s defensive impact is tremendous, which may help explain why Vegas has allowed 42 goals through 14 games. Those numbers have turned around recently with the team righting the ship, but getting their captain back would only help push them in the right direction.
Remember, while Stone is coming back off long-term injured reserve, the Golden Knights are still deep into their LTIR relief now that Jack Eichel is with the club. When everyone is healthy the team will have a difficult time fitting everything in, but activating Stone won’t cause a cap issue right away.
Minor Transactions: 11/12/21
Early November is not exactly a prime time for transactions – trades, signings, and loans alike – but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any at all. In fact, a few notable players are on the move, all from different levels and for different reasons.
- Cody Goloubef and the Ottawa Senators can’t seem to stay away from one another. The veteran defenseman, an Ontario native, was first acquired by the Senators in a trade with the Boston Bruins in 2018-19. He re-signed with the club for the the 2019-20 season, though he was dealt away to Detroit late in the year. Goloubef then turned around and signed another one-year deal with Ottawa and served as a veteran leader for AHL Belleville last season. After 29 NHL games and 61 AHL games with the organization over the past three years, Goloubef did not re-sign with the team this summer and seemed that he could either be heading elsewhere or perhaps retiring. As it turns out, the answer was neither. Goloubef has signed a PTO with Belleville, the club announced, and that may just be the beginning. Given the ongoing depth issues that the Senators entire system is facing on the blue line, Goloubef could just be getting his legs under him in the AHL before signing with Ottawa. Either way, this tryout seems to be a precursor to yet another contract with the Senators. Goloubef, 31, has a decade of pro experience, including 160 NHL games, not to mention Olympic experience, so the club could do far worse with an in-season signing.
- By all accounts, Daniel D’Amato is not officially a Vegas Golden Knights prospect, but the team is treating him like one. D’Amato was a training camp standout for the Knights this fall, but left both Vegas and Henderson camps without a contract, returning to the OHL’s Erie Otters. Yet, after a strong start to his junior season with seven points in 11 games, D’Amato was suddenly making his pro debut last knight for the AHL’s Silver Knights. With some reports calling this a call-up but no record of a contract, it remains unclear under what conditions D’Amato has joined the Knights organization. What is certain is that the club likes the two-way winger and he could be in play for an entry-level contract before too long.
- Nico Gross was once considered an up-and-coming NHL prospect. The Swiss defenseman was a standout on the international stage and impressed by making the jump from the Swiss juniors to the OHL and producing right away. The New York Rangers used a fourth-round pick on the talented blue liner in 2018 and at the time it was regarded as a high-ceiling selection. However, by 2020 Gross had flatlined in his development and the Rangers opted not to extend him an entry-level contract. Despite some speculation that perhaps another team might sign him, Gross returned to Switzerland and signed a two-year deal with powerhouse NLA club EV Zug in 2020. This was considered a safe play with the 2020-21 AHL season in doubt and Gross needing consistent ice time at 21. Again though, the young defenseman has failed to improve. Rather than using two years in Europe to prepare for another run at the NHL, Gross has done little through 64 games and was even demoted for nine games last season. The team clearly still believes in his potential, as Gross has signed a two-year extension, the team announced. What the move really says though is that Gross does not believe he can land a deal in North America and it’s starting to seem like maybe he never will.
Jack Eichel Undergoes Surgery
After months and months of waiting, Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel has finally undergone surgery. The artificial disk replacement procedure was completed today by Dr. Chad Prusmack, according to Jeff Marek of Sportsnet, and early reports are that it went well.
Eichel now faces a rehabilitation timeline that he has suggested could be as short as three months but is uncertain at this point because of the surgery in question. The procedure had never been done on an NHL player before Eichel, which was part of the concern of the Buffalo Sabres who had blocked it through the offseason. The Sabres eventually found a package they liked enough to trade Eichel to Vegas last week, acquiring Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs along with draft picks for their former captain.
Currently on injured reserve, it will be a battle for the Golden Knights to get Eichel back onto the active roster before the end of the season. Not only does the injury timeline come with plenty of uncertainty, but so too does their cap situation. With Eichel, Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and Jake Bischoff currently on LTIR, the team is exceeding the $81.5MM cap ceiling by more than $11MM. Activating the entire group would be impossible without making other transactions to open a good amount of cap space, ones that could not simply be waiving or sending down the fringe players on their roster.
So the work now begins for Eichel, to get back to full strength and ready to play hockey, but also the Golden Knights, if they want to have him play games ahead of the playoffs. Of course, the playoffs aren’t a guarantee in Vegas this year, given their uneven start. The team is currently fifth in the Pacific Division with an 8-6 record through 14 games, though they have won their last two and are 4-1 in their last five.
When he does eventually return, whether it’s this season or next, Eichel is expected to take up residence between Stone and Pacioretty on the team’s first line. It will be at that point the onus will be on him to prove he can still be the dynamic offensive player he was in Buffalo, one that set career-highs of 36 goals and 82 points in recent years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Golden Knights Recall Paul Cotter
- The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that they’ve brought up forward Paul Cotter from AHL Henderson. The 21-year-old has yet to play in the NHL and has two goals in eight games with the Silver Knights this season.