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Archives for November 2021

Brandon Hagel Out Two Weeks With Shoulder Injury

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The Chicago Blackhawks took home their third victory of the season last night, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout. They did it without Brandon Hagel, as he was being evaluated for a shoulder injury suffered on Sunday. Now the team has revealed that shoulder injury will keep Hagel out for the next two weeks. It’s not all bad news though, the team also announced that Isaak Phillips and Tyler Johnson have been removed from the COVID protocol.

Hagel, a sixth-round pick from 2016 by the Buffalo Sabres, has blossomed into a legitimate NHL player with the Blackhawks. Signed in 2018 after he failed to ink an entry-level deal with the Sabres, the former Red Deer Rebels star quickly climbed the ranks to become a full-time member of Chicago’s lineup last season. In 52 games he scored nine goals and 24 points, suggesting there was more to come from the winger in the future.

That future appeared to be this season, as Hagel started the year with four goals and six points in his first 13 games. On the first season of a three-year contract, he was already providing the kind of inexpensive supplementary scoring that the Blackhawks need to be effective.

Two weeks could mean that Hagel misses as few as five games, though it’s unclear right now when he’ll be fully ready to return to action. For now, he and MacKenzie Entwistle, who has also been ruled out for the next several weeks, will have to watch and hope the team can get things turned in the right direction without them.

Travis Hamonic Assigned To AHL

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The Vancouver Canucks have officially assigned Travis Hamonic to the AHL as they head out on a three-game road trip to the U.S. As Ben Kuzma of Postmedia points out on Twitter, Hamonic is not considered fully vaccinated, so if he traveled with the team he would face quarantine restrictions upon his return to Canada. Instead, the team has recalled Jack Rathbone for the trip and placed Luke Schenn on injured reserve.

In this case, Hamonic had already cleared waivers before the season began so won’t need to go through that process again until he plays in 10 games at the NHL level or spends 30 days on the active roster. The veteran defenseman has been in the lineup four times so far, playing a season-high 19:50 in last night’s overtime loss against the Anaheim Ducks.

Rathbone meanwhile isn’t just some last-minute call-up. The 22-year-old defenseman has already played eight games for Vancouver this season and appears to be a big part of their future on the back end. He recorded one point in two games for Abbotsford, but will get back on the road with the big club and receive another opportunity to show what he can do at the NHL level.

One thing to remember about the Hamonic demotion is that while in the AHL, only $1.125MM of his $3MM cap hit is buried. The team has Tyler Motte traveling with them as he approaches a return from LTIR, meaning the salary cap dance will get even more complicated in the coming weeks for Vancouver.

AHL Shuffle: 11/10/21

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It’s a quiet Wednesday with just three games on tap around the NHL, meaning the AHL transactions page might not be very busy. Still, as always we’ll keep track of all the minor moves up and down as teams shuffle their lineup around.

Atlantic Division

  • Jack Studnicka has been sent back to the Providence Bruins of the AHL, where he is expected to play tonight against the Springfield Thunderbirds. The young Bruins forward has played three games for Providence and four games for Boston this season, bouncing back and forth every few days.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have returned Andrej Sustr to the AHL, now that Mikhail Sergachev has served his two-game suspension. Sustr has played in eight games for the team this season, recording one goal.
  • The Florida Panthers have returned Chris Gibson to the Charlotte Checkers, suggesting Sergei Bobrovsky is healthy enough to return for the team. Gibson is not expected to contribute much for the Panthers this season, but is a handy insurance option to have around given he has a handful of games at the NHL level.

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • After activating Isaak Phillips from the COVID protocol today, the Chicago Blackhawks have returned him to the AHL. The young defenseman has played three games this season for Chicago, despite having just 31 AHL contests under his belt to this point.

Pacific Division

This page will be updated throughout the day

Josh Brown Added To COVID Protocol

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The Ottawa Senators have placed a sixth player in the COVID protocol, adding Josh Brown to it this morning. He joins Victor Mete, Austin Watson, Nick Holden, Connor Brown, and Dylan Gambrell as players unavailable to the Senators currently, along with assistant coach Jack Capuano who is also in the protocol.

Importantly, the team has not revealed whether Brown tested positive for coronavirus or how long he will be held out of the lineup. He did play last night, logging more than 15 minutes in a loss to the Boston Bruins. Through 12 games for the team this season he has yet to score a point.

Hopefully, the parade to the protocol ends there for the Senators, though it has obviously already done some damage to their season chances. Ottawa has lost five in a row now and find themselves tied with the Montreal Canadiens for last place in the Atlantic Division. Losing players like Brown is especially impactful, given his important position on the roster. All the team can do right now is try to get through this stretch without any lingering health issues.

The Senators are scheduled to take on the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow night, before welcoming in the Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames for a back-to-back over the weekend.

Hendrix Lapierre Returned To Junior

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After six games with the NHL club, Hendrix Lapierre is headed back to junior. The Washington Capitals have assigned the young prospect to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL where he will play the rest of the season. Lapierre was not eligible for the AHL. Because he played less than ten games with the Capitals, he will not burn the first year of his entry-level contract.

Still just 19, Lapierre scored the first goal of his NHL career during his time in Washington and will likely be back with the Capitals next season. For now, he will be able to return to a league that he actually hasn’t played a ton in, due to injury or shortened seasons. Over three years, Lapierre has suited up just 101 times in the Q, all of them coming for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Earlier this summer, Chicoutimi traded him to Acadie-Bathurst, where he’ll now report.

An extremely talented forward, there had been health concerns with Lapierre stemming back to a series of concussions suffered in junior. At least some of those concussions were later diagnosed as a neck issue, and it was the Capitals who ended up taking a risk by selecting him 22nd overall in 2020. That seems to have immediately paid off, with Lapierre making the club out of camp and impressing along the way, though the team will obviously have to closely monitor his health moving forward.

Back in junior, not only should Lapierre dominate the QMJHL, but he’ll also be a top candidate for the Canadian World Junior team. As a 19-year-old who turns 20 in February, this is his last chance to play in the event.

Wyatt Kalynuk Activated From Injured Reserve

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Nov 10: Kalynuk has now been assigned to the Rockford IceHogs to get some game action in. The AHL club plays tonight against the Iowa Wild, where he’ll make his season debut.

Nov 9: The Chicago Blackhawks activated defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk from long-term injured reserve today, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. Kalynuk was previously sidelined with a right ankle sprain.

He’ll be taking warmups Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, however, interim head coach Derek King confirmed that he won’t be in the lineup.

Kalynuk was placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to October 5 with the injury and was classified as week-to-week. He could make his season debut soon and could make an effort to push Riley Stillman, who’s playing just 15:17 per game, out of the lineup.

The 24-year-old Kalynuk is entering his second season in the NHL after an impressive rookie campaign last year. Originally a seventh-round selection in 2017 by the Philadelphia Flyers, he was never signed and instead signed his entry-level contract with Chicago prior to the 2020-21 season. Skating in 21 games, Kalynuk scored four goals and five assists for nine points while registering 16:16 of ice time per game last season.

Zayde Wisdom On Track For Canada World Junior Selection Camp After Surgery

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According to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Zayde Wisdom is progressing ahead of schedule after receiving shoulder surgery and could return in early December in time for Team Canada’s selection camp for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championships.

The Flyers announced Wisdom was out indefinitely after undergoing successful shoulder surgery on August 13.

Selected in the fourth round in the 2020 NHL Draft by Philadelphia, Wisdom already looks like a potential gem for the Flyers organization. After scoring 29 goals and 59 points in 62 games with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs in his draft year, the OHL’s COVID-related shutdown in 2020-21 allowed him the chance to play with the Flyers’ AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley. With the Phantoms, Wisdom impressed, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 28 games as an 18-year-old.

Wisdom is eligible to return to the AHL this season, as he played enough games last season to become exempt from the standard NHL/CHL player agreement. Under normal circumstances, Wisdom would be required to play back with his team in Kingston, if not the NHL.

With that kind of production, Wisdom is expected to at least get a look to make Canada’s World Juniors team this year, although it will be a challenge with an exceptionally deep roster. If he returns to Lehigh Valley and continues to impress, he could be a candidate for a late-season call-up in Philadelphia as well.

Anaheim Ducks Place Bob Murray On Administrative Leave

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The Anaheim Ducks have placed general manager Bob Murray on administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation related to professional conduct. The team has released this statement:

We recently became aware of accusations of improper professional conduct against Bob Murray. After internal review, we enlisted Shephard Mullin to perform an independent investigation. Upon recommendation from their initial findings, we have decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results. In the interim, Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager Jeff Solomon will assume the role of Interim General Manager. We will have no further comment until the investigation is complete.

The team did not release any information in regards to the investigation. Solomon, who will take over for the time being, was only hired by the Ducks a few months ago after spending the first 14 years of his front office career with the Los Angeles Kings. When hired, his role was to “oversee strategic budget planning in relation to the NHL’s CBA and the salary cap, contract and arbitration negotiation, and player evaluation. Though he has never held the role of general manager, Solomon is no newcomer to the NHL. Before his stint with the Kings, he was an agent for nearly two decades.

Murray meanwhile has been with the Ducks since 2005 and took over as GM during the 2008-09 season. He has been in NHL front offices for nearly three decades, starting out as the director of player personnel with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1991, soon after his 1,008-game playing career had ended.

Sheppard Mullin is an international law firm with headquarters in Los Angeles.

Carey Price Explains Absence From Montreal Canadiens

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Last month, Carey Price left the Montreal Canadiens to enter the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Today, he released a statement explaining why he left and what his next steps will look like:

Over the last few years I have let myself get to a very dark place and I didn’t have the tools to cope with that struggle. Last month I made the decision to enter a residential treatment facility for substance use. Things had reached a point that I realized I needed to prioritize my health for both myself and for my family. Asking for help when you need it is what we encourage our kids to do. And it was what I needed to do.

I am working through years of neglecting my own mental health which will take some time to repair; all I can do is take it day by day. With that comes some uncertainty with when I will return to play. I appreciate all of the overwhelming support and well wishes. I please ask that the media and our hockey community continue to respect our privacy at this time. Your support and respect of this so far has been a critical piece to my recovery.

Price has not yet played this season and was recovering from offseason surgery at the time of his departure from the team. Now back with the club, it is not clear when he will return to action.

A 14-year veteran of the NHL, Price has won the Vezina, Hart, Jennings, and Ted Lindsay awards, an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada and sits 27th on the all-time list of games played by a goaltender. His 360 regular season wins put him 21st on the all-time list, and his 43 postseason victories put him 28th.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Leivo, Place Niederreiter On IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes have moved Nino Niederreiter to injured reserve, recalling Josh Leivo to take his place on the roster.

Niederreiter is dealing with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss another little while as he recovers. The veteran forward last played on October 29, leaving that game against the Chicago Blackhawks early. He still isn’t practicing with the team, though it’s not clear exactly how long he’ll be out. His placement on injured reserve can be retroactive to his last game, so he will be eligible to return whenever he’s healthy enough to do so.

Leivo meanwhile had been playing at the AHL level for the first time since 2016-17 this season, suiting up for three contests with the Chicago Wolves. Though never a full-time NHL option, he has played more than 200 games to this point including 38 last season with the Calgary Flames. Armed with an impressive shot and some offensive upside, the 6’2″ forward could be used in a variety of ways by the Hurricanes if inserted into the lineup.

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