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Juraj Slafkovský Out At Least One Week With Upper-Body Injury

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Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovský will miss at least the next week with an upper-body injury, the team announced today. He hasn’t been placed on injured reserve but can be if needed. He’ll be absent for the team’s next four games at a minimum before being re-evaluated.

Slafkovský is dealing with a suspected shoulder injury sustained while practicing late last week, but he played through it and recorded two assists in a contest against the Islanders on Saturday. They’re shutting him down for now, though – whether that’s due to a setback or just purely for precautionary reasons remains to be seen.

It puts a damper on what had been a decent start to the campaign for the 2022 first-overall pick. Slafkovský wasn’t shooting the puck with nearly as much aplomb as last season, lighting the lamp once on seven shots through six games, but had added five assists to click at a point-per-game pace alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. They’ve really struggled to defend as a unit, though, allowing an eye-popping 4.41 xGA per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck.

Enforcer Michael Pezzetta will draw into the lineup and make his season debut tonight against the Rangers, the team said. But it’s highly unlikely he’ll shoulder Slafkovský’s vacated first-line minutes. If head coach Martin St. Louis’ deployment last season is any indication, that honor will likely go to Josh Anderson. He logged over 77 minutes alongside Caufield and Suzuki, second to Slafkovský’s whopping 751 minutes.

Slafkovský’s earliest potential return will be against the Capitals on the last day of the month.

Kaiden Guhle Out Day-To-Day

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David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll could be ready to return to action as early as Tuesday. The news comes from Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, who said it’s possible the 26-year-old would play tomorrow night when Toronto takes on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Woll has been dealing with groin tightness since training camp in early October. His injury has thrust summer free agent signing Anthony Stolarz into a lot of work early in the season as the veteran netminder has played five of Toronto’s first six games entering action tonight.

Woll signed a three-year extension early in the summer and appeared to have the inside track to the starter role as he entered training camp. The Dardenne Prairie, Missouri native was terrific last season for the Maple Leafs, posting 7.2 goals saved above expected (as per Money Puck) in 25 games.

In other evening notes:

  • Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports that Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not participate in Canadiens practice earlier today. Guhle has been dealing with the ailment since late last week and didn’t play on Saturday night against the Islanders. The 22-year-old missed nearly all of Canadiens training camp after having his appendix removed and has had an uneven start to the season, posting good offensive numbers, but has been abysmal on the possession front (34.5% CF% at even strength as per Hockey Reference).
  • Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News is reporting that a source of his has told him that the next NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement could have AHL eligibility as an option for 19-year-olds written into it. The news could be another challenge for the CHL who are preparing to navigate the new NCAA eligibility rules. However, the news would be good for players such as Sabres forward prospect Matt Savoie who just spent his age-19 season in the WHL last year.

Canadiens Activate And Assign Jacob Perreault To AHL

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While the Canadiens are dealing with some more injuries, one of their prospects has been cleared to return.  Per the AHL’s Transactions Log, Montreal has assigned forward Jacob Perreault to AHL Laval, meaning that he has been activated from the injured, non-roster list.

The 22-year-old was a first-round pick by Anaheim back in 2020, going 31st overall but has seen his stock drop since then.  Perreault made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season, getting into one contest while putting up 37 points in 55 AHL appearances.  However, his output dipped to 19 points in 48 games the following year.

After a similar first three-quarters of last season, Anaheim decided to move Perreault to Montreal in exchange for prospect Jan Mysak.  The change of scenery didn’t do him much good as he managed just a goal and an assist in 13 games before being sidelined with the injury that kept him out of the lineup until now.  The Canadiens attempted to send him down in late September but that was later reversed since injured players can’t be assigned to the minors.

Perreault is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and with how things have gone for him the last couple of years, he’s not guaranteed to land a qualifying offer next summer.  Rather than focusing on trying to earn a recall in the coming months, his focus will likely be on locking down a full-time spot in Laval’s lineup and demonstrating that he’ll be worth keeping around.

Juraj Slafkovsky Questionable To Play Tomorrow

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  • The Montreal Canadiens will be somewhat bruised and battered in their upcoming game against the New York Islanders tomorrow evening. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that defenseman Kaiden Guhle won’t travel with the team as he’s dealing with an upper-body injury but fortunately, defenseman Mike Matheson will make the trip. Engels also shared that forward Juraj Slafkovsky would travel with the team to New York but he’s questionable to participate in tomorrow night’s action. Montreal will look to win their third contest of the season tomorrow night but may have to do so without some important pieces.

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Canadiens Recall Logan Mailloux

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The Canadiens have recalled defenseman Logan Mailloux from AHL Laval, according to a team announcement. There’s an open spot on their 23-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary. The call-up does come after No. 1 defender Mike Matheson left last night’s loss to the Kings with an upper-body injury, however. Kaiden Guhle is also day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the team said later Friday.

Mailloux, 21, made his NHL debut in the final game of last season, posting an assist and a +1 rating with two shots on goal in over 21 minutes of action against the Red Wings. It came at the end of the right-shot defender’s first season in the pros, playing all 72 games for Laval. His 14 goals and 33 assists for 47 points led Rocket defensemen in scoring and earned him a place on the league’s All-Rookie Team.

The 6’3″ Ontario native spent his junior career with the OHL’s London Knights. While spending his draft year on loan to Sweden’s SK Lejon due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was charged with defamation and criminal photography for “sending explicit pictures of a sexual act without the consent of his partner” (as written by CTV’s Daniel J. Rowe).

He was fined by the Swedish government and subsequently asked not to be selected in the 2021 draft but was selected by Montreal anyway with the 31st overall pick. He spent most of his post-draft year with OHL London out of the lineup, serving a suspension related to the charges, but had 53 points in 59 games the following season and led the league in goals from a defenseman with 25.

In regard to Matheson, the 30-year-old will be further evaluated today, the team said (via TSN). He had three assists and a -2 rating through Montreal’s first five games of the season. He’s coming off a 51-assist, 62-point campaign in 2023-24 that nearly doubled his previous career highs, cementing himself as a top-pairing threat offensively in the prime of his career with the Habs. He logged 25:33 per game last year, good enough for third in the league.

Mailloux will enter the lineup tomorrow against the Islanders if neither Matheson or Guhle can play.

Kirch Dach Returns To Practice For Montreal

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  • There are no long-term concerns for Montreal Canadiens’ forward Kirby Dach after missing the team’s practice yesterday. The organization announced Dach was a full participant at practice this morning and he will play down the middle on the team’s second line tonight alongside Alex Newhook and Joel Armia. Dach has tallied one assist in four games entering tonight’s action.

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Atlantic Notes: Nylander, Peterka, Struble

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The Maple Leafs may not be without William Nylander for any game action. After missing practice Tuesday with an illness, the star winger is feeling better and will be a game-time decision tonight against the Kings, head coach Craig Berube told reporters, including David Alter of The Hockey News. He’s the second top-six forward affected by something going around the Toronto room. It caused center John Tavares to miss their 4-2 win over the Penguins last weekend, in which Nylander had his first two points of the season – both goals. The 28-year-old is in the first season of the eight-year, $92MM extension he inked midway through last season.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sabres will have John-Jason Peterka available for tonight’s game against the Penguins after he missed their last two games with a concussion, head coach Lindy Ruff said. He sustained the concussion on a hit from Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon in the second game of their Global Series set at the beginning of the month. The 22-year-old had an assist and a -2 rating in the season opener and projects to re-enter the lineup in a first-line role alongside Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.
  • Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble has been cleared to return from his upper-body injury, per head coach Martin St. Louis (via TVA’s Renaud Lavoie). The 23-year-old has yet to play this year after sustaining the injury late in preseason. He’ll look to lock down a more consistent bottom-pairing role this season after making his NHL debut last year and posting 10 points and a -3 rating in 56 games while averaging just north of 16 minutes per night. It’s unclear whether he’ll play tomorrow against the Kings or sit as a healthy scratch, though.

Canadiens Place Alex Barre-Boulet On Waivers

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The Montreal Canadiens have placed winger Alex Barre-Boulet on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL. Barre-Boulet signed a one-year, two-way contract with Montreal on July 1st and made the team out of training camp. He’s since filled a fourth-line role for Montreal’s first two games of the season, though he failed to record a point and served as a health scratch on Saturday.

Barre-Boulet has played in the AHL in each of the last six seasons, kicking his career off on an undrafted free-agent deal with the Syracuse Crunch in 2018. He potted a dazzling 68 points, split evenly, in 74 games as an AHL rookie, quickly earning a confident top-six role. He continued his hot scoring through the 2019-20 season, netting 56 points in 60 games and earning the first NHL contract of his career. But Barre-Boulet wasn’t able to find the same production through appearances with Tampa Bay in 2020-21 and 2021-22, ultimately scoring just eight points in his first 29 NHL games.

Seattle claimed Barre-Boulet from the Lightning early into the 2021-22 season but only iced him in two scoreless games before waiving him themselves, allowing Tampa to reclaim him. He was a Kraken for just 10 days, and would proceed the vacation with his first point-per-game season in the AHL, netting 63 points in 58 games. That point-per-game scoring continued through 2022-23, earning Barre-Boulet the first extended NHL stay of his career last season. But he stayed in his rut, netting just nine points in 36 games. A deal with Montreal this summer was supposed to bring a change of scenery capable of sparking Barre-Boulet’s career – which seemed possible when he made the Canadiens roster out of camp – but instead he finds himself on waivers for the sixth time in his career. He’s scored 302 points in 294 career AHL games and brings exciting upside to the AHL’s Laval Rocket, should he clear waivers.

Yevgeni Volokhin Loaned To HK Sochi In KHL

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  • Canadiens goaltending prospect Yevgeni Volokhin has been loaned to HK Sochi, per an announcement from the KHL club. SKA St. Petersburg acquired his rights earlier this week but will let the 19-year-old get his feet wet at the top Russian level elsewhere for the time being.  Montreal drafted Volokhin in the fifth round in 2023, going 144th overall.  He was one of the top netminders at their junior level last season, posting a 1.57 GAA with a .938 SV% in 31 games with Mamonty Yugry and has similar numbers (1.95 and .931 respectively) in eight appearances at the MHL level this year.

East Notes: Kapanen, Grimaldi, Thompson

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After a strong training camp, Canadiens center prospect Oliver Kapanen was a surprise inclusion on the opening night roster. The 21-year-old pivot sat in the press box for their season opener against the Maple Leafs but made his NHL debut in last night’s loss to the Bruins, recording an assist and a shot on goal in 10:22 of ice time.

The 2021 second-round pick is demonstrating he has a decently high offensive ceiling. After all, he did show up in a big way for Liiga’s KalPa last year, posting 34 points (14 G, 20 A) in 51 games. That’s strong production for a youngster in a European pro league, and tacking on his six goals in eight games for the Finns at the 2024 World Championship, it’s clear he’s knocking on the door of full-time NHL minutes.

But there isn’t an extremely clear path to them yet, with Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, and Christian Dvorak down the middle. It’s foreseeable that Kapanen won’t spend the whole year on the NHL roster. While they would typically be required to first offer him back to his European team (now Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League) due to transfer regulations for some international non-first-round picks, that may not be the case. He could spend the rest of the season on assignment to AHL Laval if he spends at least 60 days on Montreal’s roster to open the campaign, as Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gambler pointed out. That’s a decently likely scenario with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Patrik Laine facing long-term injuries. Kapanen would likely play out the rest of the year in the minors once one is ready to return.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • The Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, have landed minor-league scoring star Rocco Grimaldi on a 25-game tryout, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. He’ll suit up with the Monsters to start the year while he continues his quest to land a two-way NHL contract. The undersized 31-year-old last saw NHL minutes with the Predators in the 2021-22 campaign, but he’s been an adequate depth offensive presence when given the chance, with 30 goals and 37 assists in 203 career NHL appearances. The former second-round pick of the Panthers has posted over a point per game in three straight AHL campaigns, including 73 in 72 games last year with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
  • Capitals netminder Logan Thompson has returned to the team today after missing a few days while on personal leave, reports Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. The Caps don’t open their season until tomorrow, so it’s unclear if their offseason trade pickup from Vegas will get the opening-night start over resident No. 1 Charlie Lindgren. Thompson made a career-high 42 starts for the Golden Knights last year, posting a 25-14-5 record with a .908 SV%, 2.70 GAA, one shutout, and 6.5 GSAA.

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