Coyotes center Barrett Hayton is expected to undergo hand surgery that will keep him out for the next five to eight weeks, reports Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). It has been a disappointing season for the 21-year-old who has been given a much bigger role than he had under Rick Tocchet but it hasn’t materialized in more production as he has just two goals and four assists in 26 games despite playing over 16 minutes a night. His entry-level deal expires this summer and being out for this long certainly won’t help him build any value for his next contract.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- Still with Arizona, Shayne Gostisbehere is a player whose fortunes have changed for the better since being dealt to the desert. After Philadelphia had to part with a pair of draft picks to get the Coyotes to take on the rest of his contract, the 28-year-old has picked up 23 points in 32 games to sit second on the team in scoring. Despite that, GM Bill Armstrong indicated in an interview with Arizona Sports (audio link) that they’re not particularly anxious to move him even though they may be able to get some value for him. Gostisbehere is signed through 2022-23 with a $4.5MM AAV.
- The Wild may soon be getting some more bad news on the injury front as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Jonas Brodin’s upper-body injury is believed to be serious enough to be a long-term issue. He was injured while blocking a shot against Boston on Thursday and leads all Minnesota players in ice time at 23:35 per game.
- Minnesota should get some good news soon when it comes to their ever-growing injury list, however, as Russo adds in a separate tweet that center Joel Eriksson Ek is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his upper-body injury and could return as soon as Friday. His IR placement earlier today was retroactive and he will still be eligible to play in that game.
- Meanwhile, as part of a long list of players not playing tonight, the Wild revealed (Twitter link) that defenseman Alex Goligoski has been placed in COVID protocol. He joins Brandon Duhaime and Jordan Greenway as those currently unavailable and if his placement was for a confirmed positive test, he’ll be out for at least the next five days.
- The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve added center Nick Bonino along with assistant coach John MacLean to the COVID protocol list. They join center Logan Couture and forward Lane Pederson as those that aren’t available for the time being.