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Kent Johnson’s Injury Not A Short-Term One

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It has been a rough first few weeks for the Blue Jackets on the injury front.  Boone Jenner might not play this season, Dmitri Voronkov has yet to play, and Erik Gudbranson could be facing a longer-term absence, among others.

Now, Kent Johnson can be added to that list.  Speaking after practice today, head coach Dean Evason told reporters including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link) that the upper-body injury for Johnson is not expected to be a short-term issue.  While he has not yet been placed on injured reserve, that is expected to happen in the near future.

The 22-year-old was injured in Thursday’s victory over Buffalo after colliding with teammate James van Riemsdyk.  It was actually the second game in a row the Blue Jackets had a ‘friendly fire’ injury with Gudbranson’s injury coming on a collision with Sean Monahan.

Last season, Johnson battled injuries and some ineffectiveness, limiting him to just 42 games with Columbus where he had just six goals and ten assists while also spending time with AHL Cleveland.  That resulted in the two sides working out a bridge contract this summer, a three-year, $5.4MM agreement as while he’s still viewed as a long-term building block for the rebuilding Blue Jackets, he certainly hadn’t shown enough for a long-term contract to be viable.

Johnson was off to a nice start to his season before the injury as he had two goals and three assists through his first four appearances and had logged an average of just over 20 minutes a night in his first three full outings.  However, it looks like it’s going to be a little while at least before he has a chance to build on that.

Snapshots: Panthers, Joshua, Honzek, Harkins

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Already missing three forwards due to illness or injuries, the Panthers won’t have forward Jonah Gadjovich available to them tonight against Vegas due to an undisclosed injury, relays team reporter Jameson Olive.  The 26-year-old has taken a regular turn on the fourth line so far this season, picking up a goal in Florida’s first six games.  As Florida doesn’t have enough cap space to afford a recall from the minors, they will dress just 17 skaters for this one, ten forwards and seven blueliners.

It’s not all bad news on that front, however.  Head coach Paul Maurice indicated that winger Matthew Tkachuk is expected to return from his illness on Tuesday while captain Aleksander Barkov should be back not long after that.  Meanwhile, Tomas Nosek is due to return early next month for their Global Series games.  With that in mind, while the Panthers will be eligible for a cap-exempt recall after tonight’s contest, they’re unlikely to actually need to use it.

More from around the NHL:

  • Canucks forward Dakota Joshua skated today for the first time as he continues to recover from surgery to address a cancerous lump from earlier this summer, mentions NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had a breakout effort last season, notching career-highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (245) across 63 regular season contests, earning him a four-year, $13MM extension in late June.  There remains no timetable for Joshua’s return but the fact he has returned to the ice is certainly a good sign.
  • The Flames have placed forward Samuel Honzek on injured reserve, relays Tim Hiebert of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is in his first professional season and played in four games before sustaining an upper-body injury that will keep him out on a week-to-week basis.  Calgary now has an open slot on their active roster and it stands to reason that it won’t take too long for it to be filled, likely with the expected pending return of Kevin Rooney who was a full participant in practice on Friday.
  • The Ducks have re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim after signing with them in free agency but cleared waivers at the end of training camp.  Harkins was brought up yesterday following the injury to Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano’s absence from the team for paternity leave and he suited up in their loss to Colorado, recording one shot on goal in 10:11 of ice time.  In a corresponding move, Vatrano is now back on the active roster.

Kings Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Kings have made several roster moves in advance of their game tomorrow against Anaheim.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been placed on injured reserve, netminder Pheonix Copley has once again been recalled from AHL Ontario on an emergency basis, and defenseman Joel Edmundson has been reinstated to the active roster.

Kuemper is in his first season with Los Angeles after being acquired over the offseason in exchange for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.  He got off to a solid start in his first two outings, allowing just three goals on 59 shots.  However, he struggled mightily in his third outing this week against Ottawa with eight shots beating him in an overtime loss.  Since then, he has been listed as out with a lower-body injury.  The Kings can back-date the placement to October 15th, meaning Kuemper will be eligible to return early next week.

As for Copley, he returns to the active roster after being papered back to the Reign earlier today.  He made one appearance in his first stint, coming in relief earlier this week against Toronto, allowing two goals on a dozen shots.  The 32-year-old has 77 career NHL appearances under his belt and will continue to serve as David Rittich’s backup until Kuemper is able to return.

Edmundson, meanwhile, had been away from the Kings for the past few days following the birth of his child.  The 31-year-old is in his first season with Los Angeles after inking a four-year, $15.4MM contract with them back in July.  He has played in three games with them so far, recording an assist and eight blocked shots in a little over 21 minutes a night.  With his return, the team is now back to carrying eight healthy blueliners.

West Notes: Blues Injuries, Kapanen, Celebrini, Hartman

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The Blues announced (Twitter link) that winger Alexey Toropchenko is listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury.  The 25-year-old was a quality secondary scorer last season, notching 14 goals along with 165 hits while playing in all 82 games, predominantly in a bottom-six role for St. Louis.  Toropchenko has been deployed similarly through the first five contests of 2024-25 where he has an assist and a dozen hits in a little under 11 minutes a night.

Meanwhile, defenseman Nick Leddy, who missed Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury, has been ruled out for tonight’s contest against Carolina and is questionable to return on Tuesday versus Winnipeg.  The veteran has logged over 22 minutes a night in his first four appearances of the season, good for third among Blues blueliners.

More from out West:

  • Still with the Blues, Lou Korac of The Hockey News wonders if winger Kasperi Kapanen could be the odd man out up front when St. Louis gets their full complement of forwards back. The 28-year-old did well after being claimed off waivers in 2023 but struggled in his only full season with them, collecting 22 points in 73 games last year.  Kapanen has been held off the scoresheet in four games so far this season.  Still, the Blues opted to give him a one-year, $1MM contract in the summer, one that could be appealing if he lands on the waiver wire in the coming weeks as other players return.
  • The Sharks are likely to be without center Macklin Celebrini for at least a couple more weeks, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The first-overall pick back in June, Celebrini played in San Jose’s opener and fared well, picking up a goal and an assist.  However, he hasn’t suited up since with what’s believed to be a nagging hip issue that the team is opting to try to let him fully recover from over having it flare up at times throughout the year.  It appears that a full recovery is still at least a couple of weeks away.
  • Wild center Ryan Hartman is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Columbus, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link). The 30-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury sustained on Tuesday against St. Louis.  Hartman has two goals through four games so far this season while logging 15:21 per night.

Predators Recall Marc Del Gaizo

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The Predators have added some extra depth on their back end heading into today’s game against Detroit.  The team announced that they have recalled blueliner Marc Del Gaizo from AHL Milwaukee.

The 25-year-old made his NHL debut last season, getting into nine games with Nashville where he had three assists, 10 blocks, and 20 hits while averaging 16:28 per night.  Del Gaizo spent most of the year in the minors with the Admirals, notching eight goals and 26 helpers in 60 contests.

With Spencer Stastney away from the team indefinitely for personal reasons, Del Gaizo was expected to be Nashville’s seventh defenseman heading into the season but the team elected to carry just the minimum of six.  That allowed Del Gaizo to get into Milwaukee’s first two contests this season where he has been held off the scoresheet.

On the surface, it’s a bit strange and risky for a team to have only carried the minimum number of blueliners thus far, especially with the team projected to have nearly $5.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  However, $4MM of that space is in jeopardy with Ryan Johansen appealing his termination from Philadelphia.  If that amount was restored by an arbitrator, then Nashville’s cap room would be more limited and the savings from Del Gaizo’s early demotion would become more important.

Now, at a minimum, Nashville has a bit of injury insurance for their back end with Del Gaizo on the roster.  He’s on a one-year, two-way deal worth the minimum $775K salary in the NHL and is on track to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent next summer.

Avalanche Provide Updates On Kaapo Kahkonen And Valeri Nichushkin

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While Colorado added some goalie depth a little more than a week ago with the claiming of Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers from Winnipeg, he wasn’t available to them as he went through the work visa process.  However, the team announced (Twitter link) that he has joined the team and will take part in practice with them today, meaning he has cleared that process.

Goaltending has been an issue for the Avs early on this season with Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen combining to allow 24 goals on just 123 shots for a combined save percentage of .805.  While this is certainly a case of a small sample size, it’s also an area of concern with Georgiev struggling at times in the second half of last season.

While Kahkonen is coming off somewhat of a rough year himself that saw him post a 3.64 GAA and a .898 SV% in 37 games between San Jose and New Jersey, he will at least give them another option with some NHL experience with Annunen having just 20 career appearances under his belt.  Kahkonen will likely need a few practices before he’s game-ready with how long he had to sit but he should be a playable option for them before too long.

With Kahkonen joining the active roster, a corresponding move was needed to formally activate him as they were already at the maximum of 23 players.  That was made with the team moving Devon Toews to injured reserve.  His presence there might be short-lived, however, as Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette notes (Twitter link) that Toews took part in practice for the Avs today.

Meanwhile, the team also revealed that winger Valeri Nichushkin has arrived in Denver and will begin to work out and skate on his own.  He remains in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and isn’t eligible to return to NHL action until November 13th.  However, the fact that he is coming to the city several weeks in advance to start working out suggests that he’s on track to return at that time.

For the time being, Nichushkin’s $6.125MM AAV is not counting against Colorado’s cap number.  Assuming he gets the green light next month, he’ll come back on their books.  That said, with Gabriel Landeskog and Tucker Poolman presently on LTIR, they will have enough cap flexibility to activate him without any issues at that time.

Penguins Recall Alex Nedeljkovic From Conditioning Loan

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Saturday: Nedeljkovic’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the team announced that he has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  He made 33 saves on 36 shots in their victory over Lehigh Valley.

Thursday: Alex Nedeljkovic is on the verge of returning from his lower-body injury, as the team announced they’d activated him from injured reserve and assigned him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan. He’ll now count against the 23-man roster limit, but Pittsburgh had an open spot after sending Rutger McGroarty to the minors yesterday, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

Nedeljkovic hasn’t played at all this season after sustaining the injury during an exhibition game against the Red Wings on Sep. 30. He was listed as week-to-week a couple of days later and landed on IR when the Penguins announced their opening night roster. He did end up missing well over the seven days required for an IR placement, but it’s clear now he wouldn’t have been out long enough to land on LTIR.

The 28-year-old can remain in the AHL for up to 14 days on his conditioning stint, but once he returns, he’s expected to challenge for a 1A/starting role in Pittsburgh. He took over those duties down the stretch last season, finishing the campaign with an 18-7-7 record and .902 SV% in 38 appearances. Even with those pedestrian numbers, that’s certainly a better option than what the more established Tristan Jarry has given them to start this season. Jarry also struggled to the tune of a rather average .903 SV% last year and is off to a tough start this October with a .833 SV% and 5.47 GAA in three starts.

With Nedeljkovic soon returning, there’s a legitimate argument to be made that Jarry has fallen to No. 3 on Pittsburgh’s goaltending depth chart. 22-year-old Joel Blomqvist made the opening night roster with Nedeljkovic injured and has been the superior option in a limited sample, making 84 saves on 92 shots faced for a .913 SV% in his first three career NHL appearances. For a team with playoff aspirations, it’ll be hard to justify sending the waiver-exempt Blomqvist to the minors at the expense of keeping Jarry, meaning the latter could potentially end up on waivers with four years left on his five-year, $26.88MM deal. There’s no rush, though, as the Pens are cap-compliant with 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goalies.

Kings Recall Pheonix Copley, Place Joel Edmundson On Non-Roster List

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Saturday: Copley has been returned to Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log, suggesting that Kuemper has been cleared to return.

Wednesday: The Kings have recalled netminder Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario under emergency conditions, per a team announcement. Starter Darcy Kuemper is out with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, adds Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Defenseman Joel Edmundson has been granted personal leave and moved to the non-roster list, giving the Kings the open spot on the 23-man roster necessary to add Copley.

It’s a tough break for the 34-year-old Kuemper, who’s just beginning his second stint with the Kings after he was acquired from the Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois this offseason. The veteran has played all three games to start the season for Los Angeles and looked strong early on, stopping 56 of 59 shots faced (.949 SV%) through his first two contests. Things came crashing down in a wild game against the Senators on Monday, though, allowing eight goals on 41 shots en route to an overtime loss, bringing his SV% on the year down to .890.

It doesn’t appear he’ll miss too much time, though. He could have been placed on IR to accommodate Copley’s recall but wasn’t, indicating there’s a chance he’ll return within the next seven days. However, he could still land there if Edmundson returns to the team before Kuemper’s ready to play, Bernstein said. Edmundson, 31, has been away from the team since yesterday while awaiting the birth of his child.

The Kings will now turn to David Rittich to make his first appearance of the season tonight against the Maple Leafs after he posted a career-high .921 SV% and 11.0 GSAA in just 24 appearances for Los Angeles last year. Copley, who missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery, will back up. The 32-year-old allowed three goals on 22 shots in his lone AHL showing this season against the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, his first appearance in over 10 months. The Alaska native struggled with a .870 SV% and 3.16 GAA in eight showings for Los Angeles last season, firmly slipping to No. 3 on their goalie depth chart behind Rittich.

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.

Stars Place Matt Dumba On IR, Recall Matej Blumel

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The Dallas Stars have placed defenseman Mathew Dumba on injured reserve and, in a corresponding move, recalled forward Matej Blumel from the AHL. Dumba has missed Dallas’ last two games with a lower-body injury that previously carried a week-to-week designation. An IR designation will now force him out for at least one week, though his injury isn’t expected to require surgery.

Dumba signed a two-year, $7.5MM contract with Dallas this summer. He only managed one full game with the Stars before suffering his injury six minutes into game two. Dumba recorded two penalties, two blocks, and no scoring in his sole Stars appearance.

Dallas stands as Dumba’s fourth team in just the last two years – moving from Minnesota to Arizona on a one-year deal signed in the summer of 2023, then getting traded to Tampa Bay at last season’s Trade Deadline. He hasn’t found much success with any of the previous three clubs, totaling just 12 points in 76 games last season. That mark stands as a career-low for Dumba, narrowly beating out his previous career-low of 14 points, set in 79 games during his final season in Minnesota. Dallas stood as a chance for Dumba to get back on the path, and maybe even rediscover the 50-point upside he flaunted in 2017-18 – but he’ll now first have to overcome the hurdle of an extended injury. Dumba recorded 18:28 in ice time in his Stars debut. Dallas has rotated minutes between Nils Lundkvist and Ilya Lyubushkin in Dumba’s absence.

Meanwhile, Blumel could receive another chance at earning routine NHL minutes. He played in the first six games of his NHL career in 2022-23, netting one goal and a -2 to go along with the 19 goals and 44 points he managed in 58 AHL games. Blumel spent the entirety of last season in the minor leagues, ramping up his production to 62 points, split evenly, in 72 games. That mark ranked him first on the Texas Stars in goals and second in total points. Blumel sits with one goal and two penalties through two AHL games this season. He’ll likely serve as bottom-six depth as Dallas bears through day-to-day injuries to both Tyler Seguin and Sam Steel.

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