- Standout New York Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider is one game removed from losing his waiver exemption status. This means that the Rangers are facing the decision of whether Schneider is a full-time NHL player or not, although he’s appeared in all eight of the Rangers’ games so far this season, netting two points. There’s no expectation that Schneider will lose his roster spot as a result of this news.
[SOURCE LINK]
Rangers Rumors
Dunc Wilson Passes Away
Inaugural Vancouver Canucks starting netminder Dunc Wilson has passed away at age 75, the NHL Alumni Association announced yesterday evening.
Born in Toronto, Wilson made his NHL debut in the 1969-70 campaign, stopping 23 of 26 shots in a lone appearance for the Flyers. The 22-year-old would then be a Canucks expansion draft selection when they entered the league in 1970, splitting crease duties evenly with 37-year-old Charlie Hodge in the franchise’s first season. He took over as the full-time starter for Vancouver in 1971-72, recording the first shutout in franchise history and playing in a career-high 53 games. He remained in Vancouver through 1973, after which he served in backup roles for the Maple Leafs and Rangers through much of the mid-1970s. Just prior to the 1976-77 season, Wilson was traded from New York to the Penguins, where he would post a career-high 18 wins, .906 SV%, 2.95 GAA, and five shutouts, placing him fourth in All-Star team voting among netminders.
Wilson was transferred back to the Canucks early in the 1978-79 campaign, which would be his last playing pro hockey. It was a premature end, in part due to an extensive surgery required to treat skin cancer. Wilson sued the Canucks soon after his retirement, alleging improper treatment of the original mole that caused the cancer, but was unsuccessful.
Like many goalies, Wilson had quite the personality – often described as “rebellious,” he didn’t let his 5-foot-11 frame stop him from appearing in nearly 300 NHL contests, even if smaller goalies were the norm in his playing days. PHR sends our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.
Bonino Out Day-To-Day With Illness
- Per a team announcement, depth forward for the New York Rangers, Nick Bonino, is considered day-to-day with an illness, and will not practice with the team today. In five games so far with the Rangers, Bonino has gone scoreless, primarily centering the fourth line between fellow teammates Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey.
[SOURCE LINK]
Nick Bonino Will Be Game-Time Decision Thursday
- After being listed as day-to-day yesterday morning, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette says center Nick Bonino will be a game-time decision for tonight’s tilt against the Predators. Bonino, who’s still looking for his first point as a Ranger, is dealing with a lower-body injury. The 35-year-old joined the Rangers on a one-year, $800K deal during free agency and has anchored their fourth line alongside a mixture of Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Pitlick and Jimmy Vesey to begin the season.
Nick Bonino Day-To-Day With Lower Body Injury
The New York Rangers have announced that Nick Bonino, who did not practice with the team on Wednesday, is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Bonino has appeared in all three Rangers games so far this season and currently sits without any scoring.
The Rangers signed Bonino to a one-year, $800K contract on the first day of free agency this summer. Bonino split time between the San Jose Sharks and the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, playing in a total of 62 games and recording 19 points. His reunion with the Penguins was cut short when Bonino suffered a lacerated kidney that required Pittsburgh to place him on long-term injured reserve. This was an upsetting blow for Bonino, who was making his return to Pittsburgh for the first time since serving on their back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2015-16 and 2016-17. His LTIR designation walked him to free agency, where New York scooped him up.
Bonino is an 826-game veteran of the NHL who’s turned into a journeyman over recent years. After appearing in parts of five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks to start his career, Bonino has gone on to play with six other clubs over the course of his 15-year career. His career-high in scoring came during the 2013-14 campaign, when Bonino netted 22 goals and 49 points. He hasn’t recorded another 20-goal season, although he has had five other seasons of 15 or more goals.
The Rangers, who boast $675K in cap space, could likely afford to recall a player if Bonino was set to miss game time. They could also turn towards Jimmy Vesey, who is currently operating as the team’s 13th forward. Bonino will look to be healthy before the Rangers’ next game, on Thursday, October 19th.
Rangers Have Shown Interest In Patrick Kane
It’s nearing decision time for the best free agent remaining on the market. Longtime Chicago Blackhawk and brief New York Ranger Patrick Kane is almost at the end of a long recovery process from hip resurfacing surgery, and multiple reports expect Kane to start contract discussion with teams in the coming days to determine his playing home for 2023-24.
Multiple teams have reported interest in Kane throughout the summer and into the season. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli threw a new name into the mix today: a reunion with the Rangers, whom Seravalli says “are paying attention to Kane” as he nears a return. Seravalli had the following to say about the Rangers’ interest:
You saw what they had to give up last year to get him; they knew at the time he wasn’t fully healthy. It didn’t quite come together like it probably should have, but I think they were really impressed with the way he entered and was a leader. They were just kind of hoping, wishing and praying he’d be at the Kane 88 showtime level we are used to. I think in the back of his mind, he’s also certainly intrigued on what it would be like to go back there. Maybe sort of finally put that piece back together.
The Rangers acquired Kane in a three-way deal with the Coyotes last February, trading a second and fourth-round pick to the Blackhawks and a third-round pick to the Coyotes to retain half of his contract. They also sent minor-league defenseman Andy Welinski to the Blackhawks in the trade. Kane’s stint in the Big Apple was underwhelming considering his reputation, but many fans weren’t surprised at his solid but not star-level play. He potted five goals and seven assists in 19 games down the stretch and added a goal and five assists in the team’s first-round loss to the Devils. Still, his nagging hip injury and long-declining advanced metrics limited his effectiveness.
Most wrote off an offseason reunion due to the Rangers’ cap constraints, which will remain a considerable roadblock in a potential deal. CapFriendly lists the Rangers with just $675K in cap space with a roster of 22 players, not even enough to accommodate a league-minimum deal. Hypothetically, the Rangers could send a player down and use the cap space to sign Kane, but they’d only be able to offer around $1.4MM per season in that case. That’s an offer other teams are likely to beat, namely the Buffalo Sabres, whom Seravalli affirms have interest in the forward after previous reports linked them into the conversation last month. Trading a forward – potentially $3.6MM man Barclay Goodrow – seems likelier.
Seravalli also acknowledged previous reports that Kane is interested in joining the Red Wings and reuniting with former Chicago linemate Alex DeBrincat. However, like others who reported on the link, he did not say if Detroit was interested in signing him.
Metropolitan Notes: Couturier, Lindgren Brothers, Nosek, Mayfield
Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier has been off to a strong start since returning from back injuries that sidelined him for nearly two years, notching an assist and a team-high +3 rating in two contests while averaging over 20 minutes per game. However, he’s hit a hiccup in his re-acclimation to everyday play. He is “banged up” and missed practice today, although head coach John Tortorella did confirm nothing is wrong with his back.
Couturier is locking down the team’s first line with Joel Farabee on his left flank, and youngsters Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster are rotating in on his right. The Flyers likely won’t be sniffing playoff contention this season, but having the 30-year-old Couturier back in action is a huge boost development-wise for a team looking to usher in, quite literally, a new era of orange this season.
Other injury considerations around the Metro this morning:
- Both of the Lindgren brothers are dealing with injuries, starting with New York Rangers defender Ryan Lindgren. He was a late scratch for their loss to Columbus on Saturday, and head coach Peter Laviolette said he’ll once again be a game-time decision for tonight’s contest against the Coyotes. The 25-year-old logged 19:50 in their season-opening win against Buffalo last week.
- Washington Capitals backup Charlie Lindgren is also questionable, leaving practice this morning. Head coach Spencer Carbery could not confirm Lindgren’s status for tonight’s game against Calgary after he allowed four goals in the team’s season opener against Pittsburgh last Friday. He played in relief of starter Darcy Kuemper, who returns to the team tonight after welcoming a son last week.
- New Jersey Devils forward Tomas Nosek is officially out of the lineup tonight after being absent from practice yesterday. He’s day-to-day with a lower-body injury, per Devils reporter Amanda Stein, and Curtis Lazar is expected to return to the lineup tonight against Florida. Nosek, who’s logged 12:10 per game in two contests, is still looking for his first point as a Devil.
- New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield is day-to-day after blocking a shot late in Saturday’s win against Buffalo, says head coach Lane Lambert. Mayfield did not practice today due to swelling in his leg, and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Coyotes is uncertain. He played 16:47 in that contest, and Samuel Bolduc will make his season debut on the third pairing should Mayfield be unavailable.
Upper-Body Injury For Ryan Lindgren
- Rangers blueliner Ryan Lindgren was a surprising scratch for last night’s game against Columbus. Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays that Lindgren sat with what the team called an upper-body injury. The defenseman took a shot off the hand in New York’s season opener back on Thursday but was a full participant in practice Friday and in the morning skate Saturday. The fact he was fine to participate in those two suggests that the Rangers are primarily being precautionary with Lindgren and that he shouldn’t be out for too long.
Alexis Lafrenière Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
- After a much-publicized disappointing preseason, there’s more bad news for New York Rangers winger Alexis Lafrenière. The team announced Saturday night he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not practice today. While he is likely to start the season on his off-wing alongside Filip Chytil and Artemi Panarin, it certainly hasn’t been the start under new head coach Peter Laviolette that Lafrenière has been looking for. The 21-year-old first-overall pick in 2020 had 39 points in 81 games last season.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/7/23
While teams have considerably whittled down their rosters compared to where they were just a weekend ago, there are still plenty more cuts to be made in the coming days. Here are today’s roster trimmings excluding earlier waiver placements.
Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)
D Ryan Johnson (to Rochester, AHL)
F Lukas Rousek (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (via team release)
D Nick DeSimone (to Calgary, AHL)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to Calgary, AHL)
F Martin Pospisil (to Calgary, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
G Yaniv Perets (to Norfolk, ECHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
D Marcus Bjork (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Jake Christiansen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Joshua Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Billy Sweezey (to Cleveland, AHL)
Dallas Stars (via team Twitter)
D Alexander Petrovic (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (via team Twitter)
F Austin Czarnik (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Timothy Gettinger (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G John Lethemon (to Toledo, ECHL)
D Jared McIsaac (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Wyatt Newpower (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brogan Rafferty (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Nashville Predators (per ESPN’s John Buccigross)
D Marc Del Gaizo (to Milwaukee, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
D Santeri Hatakka (to Utica, AHL)
G Isaac Poulter (to Utica, AHL)
New York Rangers (per team Twitter)
F Jonny Brodzinski (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ben Harpur (to Hartford, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
F Wade Allison (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (via team Twitter)
F Ryan Carpenter (to San Jose, AHL)
F Oskar Lindblom (to San Jose, AHL)
F Quentin Musty (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Jacob Peterson (to San Jose, AHL)
Seattle Kraken (per team Twitter)
D Ryker Evans (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Shane Wright (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel (to Hershey, AHL)
G Mitchell Gibson (to Hershey, AHL)
F Alex Limoges (to Hershey, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Hershey, AHL)
F Joe Snively (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
G Hunter Shepard (to Hershey, AHL)
This post will be updated throughout the day.