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Andreas Athanasiou

Central Notes: Athanasiou, Mrazek, Joseph, Heinola

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The AHL’s Rockford IceHogs have announced that forward Andreas Athanasiou has suffered a wrist injury and will miss the next four to six weeks. He’s just three games into a tenure with Rockford, after passing through waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks on November 13th. Athanasiou recorded two goals on four shots in his AHL debut but didn’t manage any scoring in two games this weekend. He’s playing in his first minor league games since the 2015-16 season, working to earn a recall after failing to score in his first five NHL games this season.

The slow start this season has continued Athanasiou’s unpredictable career. He’s only two seasons removed from a 20-goal, 40-point season with a much weaker Blackhawks lineup, but was limited to only 28 games last season by a lower-body injury that lasted nearly five months. He hasn’t rediscovered his scoring on the other side of that injury – and now gets stifled from a potential resurgence in the minor leagues for the time being. Athanasiou carries a $4.25MM cap hit and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Sticking in Chicago, starting goaltender Petr Mrazek will sit out of the team’s Tuesday night game against Anaheim for personal reasons per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720. Arvid Soderblom will take over the starting crease, and Drew Commesso has been called up to serve as backup. Soderblom has posted a .934 save percentage in five games this season, well ahead of Mrazek’s .906 in 13 games. He’ll need to stay strong, with no indication of how long Mrazek may miss and Chicago currently on a two-game losing streak.
  • It will be Mathieu Joseph stepping out of the St. Louis Blues’ lineup to make room for Robert Thomas’ return from a fractured ankle per NHL.com’s Elise Butler. Joseph only has one point in his last seven games, and has fallen to a fourth-line role after a strong stint in late October. St. Louis acquired Joseph and a third-round pick for future considerations from the Ottawa Senators this summer. Joseph scored a career-high 35 points last year, but has so far struggled to find his scoring in St. Louis. He’ll look to take better advantage of his minutes when he’s called on again, while Oskar Sundqvist also steps out of the lineup in favor of Zachary Bolduc.
  • Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel said that defender Ville Heinola could rejoin against Minnesota on Monday, shares NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton. Heinola was assigned to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for a conditioning stint after starting the year on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He hasn’t slotted into the Jets’ lineup since January of 2023, when he was assigned to the minors after scoring just one point in 10 NHL games. He went on to score 64 points in 89 AHL games over the last two seasons, though he continues to fight with routine injury. Heinola was the 20th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Blackhawks Reassign Andreas Athanasiou

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Nov. 12, 1:12 p.m.: Athanasiou passed through waivers unclaimed and will be on his way to Rockford, according to Friedman.

Nov. 11, 1:05 p.m.: Athanasiou is indeed on waivers today, per Friedman.

Nov. 11, 8:14 a.m.: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Blackhawks will place veteran center Andreas Athanasiou on waivers this week, potentially as early as Monday. The move will leave Chicago with an open roster spot, although it’s unclear what they plan to do with it.

Athanasiou, 30, was signed to a two-year, $8.5MM extension in 2023 after a resurgent 20-goal, 40-point showing with the Blackhawks the preceding season. The club banked on Athansiou’s demonstrated ceiling when healthy and his historical status as one of the league’s fastest skaters to help energize their top nine through their rebuild, even with injuries limiting Athanasiou to fewer than 70 games all but three times in his decade-long career.

The pending waiver placement underscores how poorly things have gone for Athanasiou in the year-plus since. He missed 53 games last season with a lower-body injury, and while he’s managed to avoid IR this season, he’s still barely played. Athanasiou has no points and is averaging 9:36 per game through five contests, and he’s now sat in the press box for nine straight games dating back to Oct. 22.

Even when healthy last season, Athanasiou was limited to two goals and seven assists in 28 appearances. The high-motor pivot has broadly posted relatively solid possession numbers during his time in Chicago, and his ability to slot in at center and on either wing carries some value. Still, he’s not producing enough offensively for his skill set to justify a spot in the lineup or his $4.25MM cap hit.

If he was on a league-minimum deal, or close to it, there’s a high chance at least one team would have banked on his past upside as a 15-to-30-goal scorer in middle-six usage. But his struggles the past two seasons mean no team is willing to risk the pickup at such a high cap hit, even if he’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Teams interested in Athanasiou will likely wait until after he clears waivers to initiate or accelerate trade talks with the Blackhawks, who could flip him to a club with some salary retained and the newfound flexibility of an AHL assignment. Chicago still has two available retention slots and could make him as cheap as $2.125MM against the cap for an acquiring team, who could bury him in the minors for a $975K penalty, compared to the $3.1MM he’ll still cost against Chicago’s books after he assumedly clears and is assigned to AHL Rockford.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Afternoon Notes: Global Series, Athanasiou, Foote

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The NHL has announced their Global Series matchups for the 2024-25 season, with the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils slated to face off in Prague, Czechia on October 4th and 5th, and the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars set to play in Tampere, Finland on November 1st and 2nd.

The games will mark homecomings for players on all sides, headlined by Florida star Aleksander Barkov’s return to his hometown of Tampere. He grew up through Tampere’s youth hockey program, playing for the Tappara Tampere (often shortened to just ’Tappara’) at every level from U16 in to his professional debut in the Liiga. Barkov’s father, who shares the same name, ranks fifth in Tappara’s all-time scoring, with 416 points in 517 Liiga games. He also coached for the program, though he never oversaw his son. Top Stars scorer Roope Hintz was born in Nokia, Finland – just outside of Tampere. He and Barkov are two of the eight Finns between the Florida and Dallas lineups. When asked about visiting home, Barkov said, “It’s more than a dream come true because you don’t even dream about this… This will probably be one of the best days in my life.”

Meanwhile, New Jersey Devils winger Ondrej Palat will be able to stay at his house in Prague while the team visits. Palat grew up playing in Vitkovice, just a few hours outside of Prague, and told NHL.com that he’s excited to play in front of friends and family. Fellow Devil Tomas Nosek grew up much closer to Prague, in Pardubice. The pair are the only two Czechs on New Jersey’s roster, with recent recall Lukas Rousek being the only one on Buffalo’s roster. However, the two teams do have plenty of other talents from Central Europe – including Germans Nico Daws (NJD) and John-Jason Peterka (BUF), Swiss skaters Nico Hischier, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Timo Meier (NJD), and Slovakia’s Simon Nemec.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Andreas Athanasiou is expected to make his return from injury on Tuesday night, when the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Anaheim Ducks. Athanasiou has been out for the last four months with a groin injury, playing just 11 games this season. He’ll re-enter the lineup still searching for his first goal on the year, recording just four assists prior to his injury. Athanasiou has proven to be an effective winger in Chicago, scoring 20 goals and 40 points in 81 games last season.
  • The New Jersey Devils have formally activated Nolan Foote off of non-roster injured reserve. He’s been working his way back from an upper-body injury suffered during the pre-season that’s since delayed his season debut. Foote was primarily a minor-leaguer last season, scoring 20 goals and 37 points in 55 games with the AHL’s Utica Comets. He’s also managed five goals and seven points in 19 career NHL games, dating back to his debut in 2020-21.

Central Notes: Zaitsev, Murphy, Athanasiou, Stecher

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Struggling to keep their defensive core intact through multiple injuries this season, the Chicago Blackhawks could see the return of Nikita Zaitsev rather soon, as the veteran defenseman returned to practice today (X Link). Unfortunately, as highlighted in the same report, Chicago will have to wait for the return of Connor Murphy, who has recovered slower than expected from his lower-body injury.

Although keeping the likes of Zaitsev and Murphy in the lineup each night would ultimately make the Blackhawks a more competitive team this season, they are still in the middle of their rebuild, without having any intention of competing in the Western Conference anytime soon. Being that it is never positive when a player gets injured, it becomes a touch more bittersweet in Chicago as the team can call up prospects to test their mettle at the top level without much pressure on their shoulders.

This season alone, the Blackhawks have been able to graduate defensemen Kevin Korchinski and Louis Crevier to the NHL level, and both have shown flashes of being regular parts of the lineup moving forward. Nevertheless, especially in the early years of their rebuild, Chicago will have to balance calling prospects up too early and giving them meaningful minutes at the professional level, meaning veterans such as Murphy and Zaitsev still hold a valuable spot on the active roster.

Other Central notes:

  • Staying in Chicago, Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Blackhawks reports that although forward Andreas Athanasiou has recently been a full participant in practice, there is still no timetable for his return. Signed to a two-year, $8.5MM contract extension at the end of last season, Athanasiou has only mustered 11 games for the Blackhawks this season after suffering a lower-body injury in early November. With one more year on his contract after this season, Athanasiou still has plenty of time to recover from his lost season to recoup some value potentially.
  • Moving southwest, Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports is reporting that the Arizona Coyotes will see the return of defenseman Troy Stecher tonight in their game against the Montreal Canadiens. Stecher has missed the last 13 games for the Coyotes after suffering a lower-body injury on January 20th. Choosing to return to Arizona after a trade deadline deal with the Calgary Flames last year, Stecher has suited up in 42 games for the Coyotes this season, scoring one goal and five points while averaging 18:41 minutes a night.

West Notes: Zaitsev, Athanasiou, Vlasic, O’Brien, Stecher, Kuzmenko

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Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zaitsev’s knee injury sustained in January was more severe than previously assumed, head coach Luke Richardson said Saturday (via Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). Zaitsev sustained a bone fracture along with his knee injury and, while he’s returned to off-ice workouts, won’t return until mid-March.

The 32-year-old sustained the injury in a Jan. 16 game against the Sharks and has been out of the lineup for over a month, missing Chicago’s last 14 games. The Moscow native had two goals, five assists, seven points, and a remarkable +2 rating on a bottom-feeder Blackhawks team in 26 games, although he averaged only 15:56 per contest.

Zaitsev will be a UFA this summer after completing his albatross seven-year, $31.5MM contract extension signed by then-Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello in 2017. He has yet to sniff the career-high of 36 points he set during his rookie season with Toronto in 2016, and he’s only once posted a positive expected rating in his eight-year NHL career. If he remains in the league past this season, it’ll likely be on a league-minimum deal.

Other updates from the Western Conference:

  • Sticking with Chicago, forward Andreas Athanasiou continues to progress in his recovery from a lower-body injury as he practiced in a full-contact jersey for the first time Saturday, according to Pope. The 29-year-old has not played in over three months, missing 46 games. The speedy winger disappointed through the first month of the campaign, recording four assists in 11 games and logging one healthy scratch, averaging 12:45 per game. Chicago signed him to a two-year, $8.5MM extension last summer after he racked up 20 goals and 40 points for the second time in his career last season.
  • Sharks veteran blue-liner Marc-Édouard Vlasic is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and could miss up to a week, head coach David Quinn said Saturday (via Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group). Vlasic sustained the injury in practice yesterday and will sit after playing in 14 straight games, his longest stretch of the season. It’s been a difficult campaign for the 36-year-old Sharks lifer, who was a frequent healthy scratch through November and December as his all-around game continues to decline. Once regarded as one of the top shutdown defenders in the league, Vlasic’s 41.3% Corsi share at even strength is second-worst among full-time Sharks defenders this year, only ahead of rookie Nikita Okhotyuk. He carries a $7MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season.
  • The Coyotes will activate enforcer Liam O’Brien off injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jets, head coach André Tourigny said (via Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports). The fourth-line winger missed the last five games with an upper-body injury and had been a healthy scratch twice in the prior three games. The 6-foot-1 29-year-old is in his third season in the desert, racking up eight points and 116 PIMs in 49 games this year. Defenseman Troy Stecher, who’s been out for over a month with a lower-body injury, will not be ready to go tomorrow but could return as soon as Tuesday against the Canadiens, Morgan added. Both players are on IR, but the Coyotes have two open roster spots, so no corresponding transactions are necessary to activate them over the next few days.
  • Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko will miss tonight’s Battle of Alberta with an illness, coach Ryan Huska said (via Eric Francis of Sportsnet). The middle-six scoring winger has been up-and-down since Calgary acquired him from the Canucks in the Elias Lindholm trade, notching three goals and one assist in eight games with a -2 rating. He hasn’t seen an uptick in ice time since moving across provincial lines, averaging 14:06 per game with Calgary compared to 14:21 with Vancouver. He’s signed through next season at a $5.5MM cap hit.

Afternoon Notes: Perron, Harvey-Pinard, Athanasiou

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The Edmonton Oilers could be interested in trading for Detroit Red Wings winger David Perron, per team reporter Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Matheson shares that Oiler general manager Ken Holland has long been a fan of Perron, though the Red Wings would need to retain half of Perron’s $4.75MM cap hit if any deal were to go through. The Oilers have proven their interest in veteran wingers already, signing free agent Corey Perry to a one-year, $1MM contract. Perry managed his first point as an Oiler on Friday, recording an assist on Evander Kane’s second-period goal.

Perron, 35, has been in the NHL since 2007 – jumping straight into the league after getting selected 26th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft. His 27 points in 62 games as a rookie is the lowest that Perron has scored in his career when he appeared in 50 or more games in a season. He’s proven incredibly productive, even into his glory years – tallying 58, 57, and 56 points respectively across the last three seasons. He has 10 goals and 23 points in 44 games this year, currently on his lowest scoring pace since the 2015-16 season when he managed just 16 points in 43 games.

Perry and Perron aren’t just 1000-game veterans of the NHL, they’re both Stanley Cup champions – with Perry winning with the 2007 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Perron winning with the 2019 St. Louis Blues. The pair has nearly 300 playoff games under their belt – with Perron making up 104 of those games – bringing a much-needed playoff poise to an Oilers team that has made the Conference Finals just once since 2006.

The Red Wings would have the upper hand in any trade negotiations for Perron, especially since they’ll need to retain salary. The Oilers own their first-round selection in each of the next three drafts, as well as their second-round pick this year. They may need to be ready to part with some of those picks if they want to bring in a 17-year veteran in Perron.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Montreal Canadiens forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard exited the team’s Saturday afternoon game against the Dallas Stars with a lower-body injury suffered on a collision with teammate Joel Armia. Harvy-Pinard previously missed seven weeks of the season with a lower-body injury, limiting the 25-year-old to just 23 games on the season. He’s scored one goal and seven points in those outings, adding six penalty minutes.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks saw Andreas Athanasiou return to practice on Saturday, marking his first skate since suffering a groin injury in early November. Athanasiou, 29, has played in just 11 games this season, recording four assists but still searching for his first goal of the year. His return will be a breath of fresh air for a Blackhawks offense that’s scored just 10 goals over their last eight games, going 1-6-1 in the matchups. Athanasiou scored 20 goals and 40 points last season, his highest productivity since scoring 30 goals and 54 points in the 2018-19 season.

Snapshots: Hartman, Athanasiou, Sawchyn

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Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman is set to return to game action for the team for the first time in more than a week, according to Minnesota Wild Radio Network’s Kevin Falness. Hartman has been out since the team’s December 19th win over the Boston Bruins, a game in which he scored a goal.

At times the Wild’s first-line center, Hartman has been supplanted as a top-six pivot by the emergence of Marco Rossi. But he’s still putting together a decent campaign, on pace to score 26 goals and 43 points. Back in the lineup, Hartman will give the Wild a nice boost just as they are looking to gain ground in the Central Division race.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou has hit a bit of a setback in his recovery from a groin injury, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. Roumeliotis relays word from head coach Luke Richardson who said that Athanasiou’s gym workouts have been shut down, though he plans to start them back up again now that he’s received clarity on the nature of his injury after visiting another doctor. While there still isn’t a firm timeline as to when the Blackhawks can expect to see the former 30-goal scorer back on the ice, it does seem as though that is still a ways away.
  • Florida Panthers prospect Gracyn Sawchyn was traded in the WHL today, dealt to the Edmonton Oil Kings in a deal that included seven draft picks headed the other way. Although the Oil Kings have struggled this season they’re likely to improve greatly with the addition of Sawchyn, who the Panthers drafted 63rd overall at the 2023 draft. Sawchyn’s NHL future is a topic of debate and division amongst third-party publications, as he was ranked as high as 13th overall in the class (by Elite Prospects) and as low as 49th (TSN’s Bob McKenzie).

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.

Who are the Red Wings thankful for?

Dylan Larkin.

Larkin had the opportunity to leave the Red Wings this past summer but opted to remain with the franchise signing a massive eight-year extension. Few people would’ve faulted the 27-year-old for bolting the only organization he’s ever known as his tenure in the Motor City hasn’t exactly been full of memorable moments. The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since Larkin’s rookie season back in 2015-16 and haven’t finished better than fifth in their division since that five-game ouster at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Larkin arrived in Detroit at a time when it seemed possible that the Red Wings could avoid a long rebuild and retool on the fly as they had a pile of emerging young talent to play alongside Larkin. However, many of Detroit’s top young players at the time failed to live up to expectations leading the Red Wings into a full-on rebuild that is in its eighth year.

Larkin has done his part through some very lean years in Detroit as he has led the team in scoring in five of the past seven seasons. As well as being their on-ice leader he has also become a leader in the dressing room when he was named their captain in January of 2021. Larkin has been a point-a-game player in each of the past three seasons and has done so without a ton of offensive help from his teammates.

Detroit should be thankful for Larkin, and thankful that the Waterford, Michigan native grew up in the metro Detroit area, which was probably a very big factor when it came to his decision to sign a long-term extension.

What are the Red Wings thankful for?

Scouting.

An argument can be made that perhaps the Red Wings scouting isn’t what it once was, but even if it is a fraction of what it used to be, that’s still better than most of the NHL. The Red Wings have historically been able to hit big on late-round draft picks and much of that credit belongs to Håkan Andersson who is the Director of European Scouting for Detroit. Andersson is largely responsible for the Red Wings drafting Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Tomas Tatar, Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, and Gustav Nyquist. While that list is impressive, even more impressive is that Detroit only drafted one of those players in the first round (Kronwall).

Unfortunately for Detroit’s scouting department, the NHL is very much a what have you done for me lately league and their drafting hasn’t been what it once was. That’s not to say they haven’t hit home runs. Tyler Bertuzzi was a late second-round pick, as was Filip Hronek, while Andreas Athanasiou was selected late in the fourth round. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, none of those players worked out in Detroit and they all find themselves in other uniforms.

At this moment, the Red Wings do have some emerging young forwards who could make an impact over the next few years. It will be interesting to re-evaluate the Red Wings scouting in five years to look back and see how they assessed their talent.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?

A Patrick Kane return to form.

If Patrick Kane can be anything close to what he was before double hip surgery, the Red Wings will be a real threat in the Eastern Conference. If he ends up like many of his peers who have undergone a hip resurfacing procedure, he might not be able to make much of an impact.

Those are obviously very different outcomes, and it could ultimately be the difference in the Red Wings season. Kane is just two years removed from posting 26 goals and 66 assists in 78 games and if he can bring some of that offense to Detroit’s lineup, along with the leadership that comes with winning three Stanley Cups, then he could push Detroit to be among the contenders in the East. But, if he can’t, Detroit may not be able to outscore some of the subpar goaltending they have received from Ville Husso.

It’s too early to tell how Kane will hold up under the grind of the regular season, but so far, he has looked strong with a goal in two games. Despite starting a huge percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone, Kane has been able to drive play, and get some good looks at both five-on-five and on the power play. As he gets into better game shape, he could become a difference-maker for the Red Wings and that would be something for Detroit fans to be even more thankful for.

What should be on the Red Wings holiday wish list?

A starting goaltender.

Ville Husso isn’t it for Detroit. The 28-year-old has started the majority of the Red Wings games this year and has not been good. In 14 games thus far, the native of Helsinki, Finland has gone 8-4-2 with a .886 save percentage and 3.65 goals against average. Those numbers will not do for a team that is desperate to get back into the playoffs and who has a good enough lineup to do so if they can get the goaltending.

What complicates matters is that backups James Reimer and Alex Lyon have outplayed Husso by a very wide margin. Reimer is 2-2-2 in six starts and has a .922 save percentage with a 2.18 goals-against average, while Lyon is 4-2-0 with a .931 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.13.

The wings are faced with several choices when it comes to their goaltending. They can ride it out with Husso and hope he finds his game while having Lyon and Reimer as backup options in case he falters. Or they can try and move Husso and his $4.75MM cap hit and then try and find another starting goaltender to replace him. Another option might be to add some additional depth, but with Lyon and Reimer already in the system it would become tricky to carry four goaltenders as one would have to be exposed to waivers. Carrying three goaltenders is already unusual, and if Detroit was to target a depth option, they would probably have to move one from one of their netminders.

Something that could work in Detroit’s favor is that they are one of the only contending teams that have a sizeable amount of cap space, meaning they could potentially acquire a goaltender and keep Husso if they wanted to, or move on from Husso and retain some of his cap hit in a trade.

If Husso does continue to struggle Detroit’s starting goalie job will be available, and it could become something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the trade deadline.

West Notes: Suter, Athanasiou, Flames

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Vancouver Canucks forward Pius Suter has not been in the team’s lineup since a November 12th victory over the Montreal Canadiens. That could soon change, as Rink Wide Vancouver’s Jeff Paterson reports that Suter was on the ice in a regular jersey for Canucks practice today, rather than a non-contact one.

Signed to strengthen the Canucks’ bottom-six center depth, Suter has been uneven in Vancouver. His offensive numbers are well below expectations, but with Suter as a regular face in their lineup the Canucks won far more often than they lost. The Canucks have fallen off a little bit, and have won just five of their last ten games. Perhaps the return of Suter, who scored 15 goals and 36 points in 2021-22, can help them return to their winning ways.

Some other notes from the NHL’s Western Conference:

  • The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus relays word from Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson who says that forward Andreas Athanasiou is inching closer to a return and is close to returning to skating. Although a full return to the ice is still a long way off for Athanasiou, this is a positive development as the forward works his way back from a groin injury. The speedy 29-year-old last played on November 9th and scored 20 goals and 40 points last season.
  • There appears to be a bit of a flu bug going around the Calgary Flames, as the team has announced that two forwards, Walker Duehr and A.J. Greer, did not skate today as a result of the flu. Greer played yesterday against Carolina while Duehr last played on December 5th, but this announcement puts into question each player’s availability for the Flames’ next game, which is tomorrow afternoon against the New Jersey Devils.

West Notes: Burakovsky, Byram, Makar, Athanasiou

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Kraken winger André Burakovsky is close to returning from an upper-body injury, head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters Wednesday (via Alison Lukan of Root Sports Northwest). Burakovsky sustained the injury on October 21 during a game against the Rangers, taking a hard hit from maligned defenseman Jacob Trouba. The Kraken announced Burakovsky would miss six to eight weeks shortly thereafter, putting him within the originally projected return window.

Burakovsky, who’s now missed 20 games with the injury, played just six contests this season after a groin tear kept him out for the back half of the 2022-23 regular season and the playoffs, during which the Kraken defeated the Avalanche for their first-ever series win and took the Stars to seven games in the Second Round. The missed time showed in his play to start the season, going without a point and recording a -4 rating through his first four contests. He showed signs of life in his fifth game, though, notching two assists and a +1 rating in nearly 18 minutes of ice time against the Hurricanes two days before sustaining his upper-body injury.

With such a rich recent injury history, Hakstol signaled the Kraken are being cautious with Burakovsky’s return. He’s been skating in a non-contact jersey for nearly two weeks. Since signing a five-year, $27.5MM deal with the Kraken in the summer of 2022 after hoisting the Stanley Cup as a member of the Avalanche, Burakovsky has 13 goals and 41 points in 55 contests. If he can return to the lineup Thursday against the Devils, he’s projected to play a second-line role alongside Jared McCann and Alexander Wennberg.

More from the Western Conference in this mid-week update:

  • Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar informed media today that defenseman Bowen Byram is “hopefully” healthy enough to play tomorrow after leaving yesterday’s win over the Ducks with an upper-body injury. Bednar had confirmed earlier that Byram’s injury is not head-related, a sigh of relief considering his well-documented history of concussions at just 22 years old. Even if Byram can’t play, Bednar said superstar blueliner Cale Makar is an option to return tomorrow against the Jets after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury. Overall, it’s positive news for an Avalanche defense that remains without Samuel Girard for the foreseeable future as he undergoes treatment in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Byram has played in all 25 Avalanche contests this season, logging five goals, three assists, and a -3 rating in 20:09 of average ice time.
  • Injured Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou aims to return to practice by the end of this week as he recovers from a groin injury, head coach Luke Richardson tells NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. The 29-year-old has missed 12 games with a groin injury sustained on November 9 against the Lightning and is listed as week-to-week. Athanasiou recorded 20 goals for the second time in his career last season in Chicago, but offense had been harder to come by through 11 games this year, recording four assists, no goals, and seeing his ice time drop to under 13 minutes per game. He signed a two-year, $8.5MM extension last summer to remain in the Windy City.

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