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Cole Sillinger

Snapshots: Hronek, Friedman, Pickering, Sillinger, Chinakhov

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Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek is expected to miss a “while” with an upper-body injury per Irfaan Gaffar of Daily Faceoff. Hronek seemed to suffer a shoulder injury in Vancouver’s Wednesday loss to the Penguins, after getting hit awkwardly into the boards by Pittsburgh defenseman Jack St. Ivany.

Any extended absence from Hronek would be hard for Vancouver to bear. He’s continued to serve a top-line role this season, averaging over 23 minutes of ice time a game opposite of Canucks superstar Quinn Hughes. Hronek has managed one goal and nine points in 21 games in the role – on pace for 35 points, a dip from the 48 points he scored last season.

Hronek’s stat line may not jump off the page, but he’s seemed to be the key to unlocking a Norris Trophy-level Quinn Hughes. The two have outscored opponents 18-to-10 at even-strength this season, compared to Hughes’ tying opponent scoring five-to-five without Hronek. The two have recorded a 55.07 expected-goals-for percentage since being paired together last year.

The Canucks are expected to recall veteran defenseman Mark Friedman in response to Hronek’s injury, per Noah Strang of Daily Hive. Friedman has four points through eight AHL games this year but has yet to make his season debut with Vancouver. He recorded one assist in 23 games with the Canucks last year, marking his sixth season serving the role of seventh or eighth defenseman for an NHL club. Friedman has tallied 13 points in 88 career games in the minutes he’s earned. Friedman will likely step right into the lineup hole, though he’ll face pressure from Vincent Desharnais on the bench – and Jett Woo and Cole McWard from the minors. With a potential long-term vacancy opening up, all four defenders could find a way into the lineup.

Other Thanksgiving notes:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Owen Pickering missed another practice due to illness shares Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Head coach Mike Sullivan added that the rookie is still being evaluated, and remains questionable for the team’s road game in Boston on Friday. Pickering sat out of Wednesday’s game against Vancouver. He has one point – an assist – through the first four career games. Pickering will return to competition with Ryan Shea when he’s back to full health.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets will have the services of Cole Sillinger on Friday, but Yegor Chinakhov is “banged up” and questionable, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers. Both players missed Columbus’ Thursday practice. The two have returned as core pieces of Columbus’ middle-six. They sit next to each other on the team’s scoring ranks, with Chinakhov posting 14 points in 21 games and Sillinger posting 12 in 20 games.

Metro Notes: Kochetkov, Stillman, Sillinger

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Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is out day-to-day (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet) . The 25-year-old will not play tomorrow night against the New York Rangers but could play this weekend depending on his status. Kochetkov suffered a concussion on Saturday night after he collided with teammate Sean Walker and entered concussion protocol yesterday.  Hurricanes’ head coach Rod Brind’Amour didn’t have a timeline as of yesterday, noting that concussion recovery is hard to predict.

Kochetkov has been solid this season for Carolina, posting a 10-2-0 record with a 2.42 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. His underlying numbers have been terrific in 13 games, with a goals saved above expected of 3.9 (as per MoneyPuck).

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • The Hurricanes have recalled defenseman Riley Stillman from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (Twitter link). The 26-year-old hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since the 2022-23 season and will likely be Carolina’s seventh defenseman tomorrow night when they take on the Rangers. Stillman spent all of last season in the AHL with the Rochester Americans and has suited up in four games this year, tallying a single assist. Stillman has played parts of five seasons in the NHL, registering four goals and 22 assists in 158 games.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger will miss tomorrow night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. Sillinger took a skate to the head halfway through Columbus’ victory over Carolina on Saturday night, but the Blue Jackets haven’t officially stated the reason for Sillinger’s absence. His loss will be a big one for the team as the 21-year-old is fifth in team scoring with three goals and nine assists in 20 games. He also plays on both the power play and the penalty kill, which will leave Columbus shorthanded on both sides of their specialty teams.

Blue Jackets Agree To Terms With Cole Sillinger On Two-Year Deal

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The Blue Jackets and center Cole Sillinger have come to terms on a two-year deal worth $4.5MM, per a team press release. It’s the expected result after Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported earlier this month the two sides were close on a two-year pact.

Sillinger has been viewed as a potential core piece for the Jackets ever since they selected him 12th overall in the 2021 draft. He was the middle selection of a trio of first-round picks Columbus had that year, joining Kent Johnson and Corson Ceulemans. He immediately became a top-five prospect in the organization and was expected to be a high pick after being named the United States Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year the preceding campaign.

Those expectations ratcheted up after Sillinger made the opening night roster as an 18-year-old, a rare feat for a non-top-10 pick. In his rookie season, he was immediately thrust into bottom-six center duties and finished 10th on the middling club in scoring with 31 points in 79 games. He still had some work to do defensively, as his -22 rating was one of the worst on the team, and his shot attempt and shot quality shares at even strength were below team average.

Two years later, not much has changed. Sillinger’s possession numbers improved slightly last season after a sophomore slump in 2022-23, but his offensive development has largely remained stagnant. He did feature more prominently on a weaker Columbus offense this past year, ranking sixth among forwards in average time on ice (16:07). But it didn’t translate into a big breakout on the scoresheet, managing 13 goals and 32 points in 77 games. It’s undoubtedly solid depth production, but it’s not a verifiable step forward from where his rookie season was.

But last season was a massive step in the right direction for Sillinger compared to the previous year. That sophomore slump hit him hard, limiting him to just three goals and 11 points in 64 games, resulting in a brief assignment to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

Sillinger’s overall game has had some notable positives thus far. The 21-year-old pivot has been a consistent physical presence, tying for third on the team in hits last season with 119. He’s also been a decent chance generator by volume, ranking fourth on the Jackets in shots on goal with 157 last year, but a lack of quality chances has limited him to an 8% shooting rate through his 220 career NHL games.

For now, the 6’1″, 201-lb center is a decent third-line anchor, especially for a rebuilding club. But he’s still got room to grow, and he’ll look to do so throughout this affordable bridge deal to cash in when he becomes a restricted free agent again in 2026.

Sillinger is the second member of the 2021 draft class to ink a new deal this week, joining No. 2 overall pick Matthew Beniers. He put pen to paper on a seven-year, $50MM pact yesterday.

With Sillinger signed, the Jackets’ season-opening roster could now be set with 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders, PuckPedia projects. His $2.25MM AAV and cap hit still leaves them with $15.95MM in cap space with a full roster.

Blue Jackets Notes: Laine, Sillinger, Lindstrom, Tryouts

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While the Blue Jackets have taken care of most of their offseason business, there are a couple of matters for them to still attend to.  The biggest one is the Patrik Laine situation.  The winger has made it known that he would like to be traded and has been cleared from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  However, GM Don Waddell indicated in an interview with Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers that they are not particularly close to finding a change of scenery for him:

Well, he’s still a Blue Jacket today and as we speak, I don’t have anything (newsworthy of) interest, but nothing that I had to make a decision on yet. Just some teams do their homework and trying to talk with Patrick and his agent and he thought about giving full permission to talk to teams. So, but as we are talking, I don’t have anything that on the table that would even make any sense for the Blue Jackets to make that deal.

The 26-year-old was limited to just 18 games last season where he had six goals and three assists before being shut down due to shoulder surgery in December; he entered the assistance program just over a month later.  For someone who has a cap hit of $8.7MM, that’s far from a great return.

However, Laine has a track record of being a productive scorer.  He has three 30-goal campaigns under his belt and three more of at least 22, two of which came in 2021-22 and 2022-23, seasons where he missed at least 26 games due to injury.  With that in mind, there is some recent success which should be of some value for interested teams.  But until they can make the money work (either with Columbus retaining money, taking a pricey contract back, or both), it doesn’t look like this is going to come to a quick resolution.

One element that might be resolved quickly, however, is Cole Sillinger’s next contract.  A report from The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline surfaced a little more than a week ago that the two sides were close on a new deal.  That still hasn’t been made official yet but Waddell acknowledged that an agreement is nearly done:

Yeah, we’re real close. His agent has been very, there’s been lots of talks going on, all very positive talks. We’re all within the striking distance. It’s just a matter of they have a position, we have a position and there’s no doubt in my mind it’ll get worked out.

The 21-year-old was the 12th overall pick in 2021 and made the jump to the NHL right away, notching 31 points in his rookie year before struggling considerably in his sophomore season.  However, Sillinger was able to rebound somewhat last season, notching 13 goals and 19 assists in 77 games while logging over 16 minutes a night of ice time.  That said, this appears to be a situation where a short-term second contract makes sense for both sides to better assess what Sillinger’s true offensive upside will be.

Meanwhile, Waddell provided an injury update on prospect Cayden Lindstrom.  The Blue Jackets drafted the middleman with the number four pick in June following a strong, albeit injury-riddled, WHL season with Medicine Hat where he had 27 goals and 19 assists in just 32 games.  Lindstrom has been working his way back from a back injury but has not yet been cleared to resume skating.  Accordingly, the GM suggested that he might not participate in next month’s rookie tournament unless he is deemed fully recovered at that time.

Lastly, Waddell didn’t rule out the possibility of giving out one or two tryout agreements in the coming weeks.  However, he noted that his preference is to have smaller groups for training camps and with an overhaul of the coaching staff, having the smaller group makes more sense this time around.  That said, with eight exhibition games in an 11-day stretch, having a veteran or two to help meet the minimum quota probably wouldn’t hurt.

Blue Jackets Nearing Deal With Cole Sillinger

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The Blue Jackets are close to handling business with RFA forward Cole Sillinger. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports Columbus and Sillinger are within “striking distance” on a two-year contract.

Sillinger has been a staple on Columbus’ roster for the past three seasons after going 12th overall in the 2021 draft. The 6’1″ pivot’s 220 career appearances lead the class.

With his three-year entry-level contract going into effect immediately upon his post-draft season, this was the first summer that anyone selected in 2021 could have been eligible for restricted free agency. Other 2021 draft class RFAs this summer were Columbus’ Kent Johnson, who went seven picks ahead of Sillinger, and Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser. Kraken pivot Matthew Beniers, who went second overall, is also an RFA this summer and remains without a deal.

Last season, Sillinger seemed to get himself back on track after a major sophomore slump that saw him demoted to AHL Cleveland for a brief period. The 21-year-old set career-highs with 19 assists, 32 points and a -4 rating while averaging 16:07 across 77 games.

It was an important step to show that Sillinger likely still has a top-six ceiling, although his poor showing in the faceoff dot and middling possession metrics to date suggest he may be better served as a winger. Among Blue Jackets who took at least 100 faceoffs last season, Sillinger’s 46.3 FO% ranked fifth.

While he hasn’t established himself as a bonafide core piece for the Jackets yet, he is working his way into the conversation as a valuable role player at a young age. His 74 blocked shots tied captain Boone Jenner for the most among Columbus forwards in 2023-24, and his 119 hits ranked fourth on the team, as did his 157 shots on goal. His possession metrics trended in the right direction, too, yielding career-highs of 48.4 CF% and 46.6 xGF% at even strength.

Sillinger, who was born in Columbus while his father, Mike Sillinger, was playing for the Blue Jackets, would be an RFA upon expiry of a two-year contract. He’d only be 23 years old in the 2026 offseason and well-positioned to cash in on a long-term deal if he takes a significant step in his development.

The Canadian national will be part of a continued youth movement in Columbus this fall with a forward group that also includes the aforementioned Johnson, Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, and Dmitri Voronkov.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blue Jackets Notes: Coaching Staff, Sillinger, Johnson

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Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweeted that Columbus Blue Jackets’ new head coach Dean Evason is expected to meet with current assistant coaches Mark Recchi, Jared Boll and Steve McCarthy in the coming days. The news comes from Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell who added that it is possible there could be changes to the current Columbus coaching staff, but the changes will not be a complete overhaul. All three assistant coaches are under contract through the 2024-25 season.

The three men haven’t been behind the Blue Jackets bench for any great length of time. Recchi has been with Columbus for less than a year after he was hired by the Blue Jackets last September. Boll joined the team as an assistant development coach back in September of 2018 and worked through the ranks to become an assistant coach. McCarthy joined the Blue Jackets as an assistant coach in September 2021 after spending five seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

In other Blue Jackets notes:

  • Aaron Portzline spoke on the Front and Nationwide podcast about Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger. The 21-year-old is a restricted free agent and Portzline said that Sillinger could be looking at a multi-year contract extension this summer. The former 12th overall pick set a career-high with 32 points (13 goals and 19 assists) last season and improved his overall play rebounding nicely from a very difficult 2022-23 season. Sillinger could be on the verge of a breakout next season and Waddell might want to lock him down for a few seasons before those years become more expensive.
  • Portzline also spoke about restricted free agent forward Kent Johnson saying that he believes the 21-year-old will sign a one-year deal this summer. Portzline added that Johnson is hoping for the short-term deal so he can re-enter contract negotiations next summer under better circumstances. The former fifth-overall pick is coming off a very frustrating season in which he posted just six goals and 10 assists in 42 games. Johnson dealt with inconsistency and injuries, including a season-ending shoulder injury in late February that cut his season short.

Injury Notes: Ducks, Lehkonen, Benning, Puljujarvi, Blue Jackets

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The Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of two of the most important players in their organization, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Zegras, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, has been out of the lineup since November 10th, while Drysdale, has been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th.

There is no firm date for the eventual return of either player, but Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that both players returned for practice this morning. In the same report, Lee also mentioned that breakout center, Mason McTavish, was still absent from practice after suffering an upper-body injury last week.

Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on both sides of the puck, as the team has recorded only one win in the last 11 games. Aside from just returning to the lineup, the Ducks will need both players to step up their game, as Zegras has only registered two points in 12 games, while Drysdale has only been in the lineup 10 times in the last 108 regular season games.

Other injury notes:

  • Without much specificity into the severity of the injury, the Colorado Avalanche have been without top-six forward, Artturi Lehkonen, for the last month after he suffered a neck injury in the team’s game against the Seattle Kraken on November 9th. After joining the team for practice yesterday, the expectation is that Lehkonen will not return for another six to eight weeks, narrowing his return to January or February (X Link). Currently sitting at fourth in the Western Conference, Colorado will only have a few weeks to see how Lehkonen returns before potentially making a move at the trade deadline on March 9th.
  • Missing nearly a month to an undisclosed injury in early November, beat writer Curtis Pashelka reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Benning is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. In arguably the weakest defensive core in the NHL, Benning is one of 11 defensemen to play at least one game for San Jose this season, averaging just under 18 and a half minutes of ice time per night, placing him sixth on the team amongst defensemen in that category.
  • Hoping to make his return to the NHL soon, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that unrestricted free agent forward, Jesse Puljujarvi, has fully recovered from his hip surgery and has been cleared for full-contact training by doctors. Even when healthy, Puljujarvi’s market is going to be extremely limited, if one develops at all. The former fourth overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, Puljujarvi has scored 114 points in 334 career games, including a 36-point season for the Edmonton Oilers back in the 2021-22 season.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that in the Columbus Blue Jackets game tomorrow against the Florida Panthers, forwards Cole Sillinger and Patrik Laine may be making their return to the lineup. Sillinger has missed the last five games due to an upper-body injury suffered on November 29th, while Laine has been out through the last three games with an illness.

Blue Jackets Place Adam Boqvist On IR With Shoulder Strain, Make Six Other Roster Moves

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The Blue Jackets have made a series of roster moves ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Islanders, as outlined in a team release. The team has placed defenseman Adam Boqvist on injured reserve with a shoulder strain, placed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on IR with an illness, and forward Cole Sillinger on IR retroactive to November 26 with an upper-body injury. Columbus has recalled three players from AHL Cleveland in response: defenseman Nick Blankenburg and goalie Jet Greaves have been summoned on an emergency basis, while forward Emil Bemström is coming up on a standard recall.

Additionally, the club has activated netminder Daniil Tarasov from long-term injured reserve, although he will remain with AHL Cleveland on a conditioning stint. He had previously been assigned to the minors on an LTIR-specific conditioning stint.

Boqvist, who sustained the injury in last night’s overtime loss to the Kings, is expected to miss four weeks, per the team. It’s horrible timing for the 23-year-old, who was beginning to settle into a top-pairing role alongside Zach Werenski after starting his season on a rough note. Boqvist made just four appearances in the team’s first 18 games, sitting as a healthy scratch on a near-nightly basis. He’s now made nine straight appearances, however, and had logged over 20 minutes in each of his last three contests. Since his last healthy scratch on November 18 against the Capitals, Boqvist had three assists, a +7 rating and 11 shots on goal.

The 2018 eighth-overall selection by the Blackhawks had a strong showing despite dealing with injuries in Columbus last year, logging 24 points in 46 games (a 43-point pace) and leading qualified Blue Jackets defenders with a 48.7% Corsi share at even strength. It’s fair to claim he was misused out of the gate by head coach Pascal Vincent, likely costing the struggling Blue Jackets a handful of points in the standings. Boqvist’s possession numbers have once again been strong this season, posting a relative Corsi share of 2.1%.

His spot on the active roster is assumed by Blankenburg, who figures to make his season debut tomorrow with Erik Gudbranson out sick. The 25-year-old made his NHL debut for the Blue Jackets at the tail end of the 2021-22 campaign after signing as a free agent out of the University of Michigan and has made a strong offensive impact despite standing at just 5-foot-9 – quite a diminutive frame for an NHL defender. His play at the minor-league level has been excellent, notching three goals, eight assists and a +9 rating in 18 games with Cleveland.

Meanwhile, Merzlikins is expected to miss one week with an illness after making 35 saves on 39 shots last night. He will miss the team’s next three games and can return on December 14 against the Maple Leafs. Backup Spencer Martin will likely start two of them, with Greaves potentially making his season debut Friday against the Blues in the second half of a back-to-back. Martin, who has a 3.02 GAA and .902 SV% after being claimed off waivers from the Canucks in September, now has an extended chance to make his case to stay on the roster with Tarasov nearing a return to NHL play.

Bemström comes back up to the NHL roster after being demoted to Cleveland on November 16, clearing waivers in the process. To say the 24-year-old took his demotion well is an understatement – he lit up the minors with ten goals and four assists in eight games, including five multi-point efforts. After showing he absolutely does not belong at a second-tier level, it’s not surprising to see him back in Columbus today after depth winger Eric Robinson was dealt to the Sabres.

There is no change in Sillinger’s status, and he remains listed as day-to-day. It’s unclear when he’ll return to the lineup, although he’s eligible for activation at any time, given the existing length of his absence.

Snapshots: Tanev, Barzal, Sillinger

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In a longer review of the rumors circulating around the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames defenseman, Chris Tanev, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes that if the Maple Leafs acquire Tanev, they may look to sign him rather quickly to an extension (Link). Being a native of Toronto, Tanev may take a discount to finish his career with his hometown team. Still, at his age, and with more important internal free agents on the horizon, it may be difficult for the Maple Leafs to make it work.

In the article, Friedman said, “He’s a Toronto guy, Treliving signed him, I bet he’ll have a good idea of what it will take to keep him. That’s the one guy I think Toronto goes hard to get, because even if he’s acquired as a rental, I think they’re going to be pretty confident they can keep him. But we’ll see.”

Although Tanev could significantly improve the Maple Leafs’ defense, with William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and T.J. Brodie, among others, set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, signing Tanev to an extension could become close to impossible. It is not a foregone conclusion that Toronto will sign all these players to extensions, or even that they are interested in resigning all of them, but the Maple Leafs should be trying to keep their cap situation as open as possible for next summer.

Other snapshots:

  • The New York Islanders announced that forward Mathew Barzal will miss tonight’s game with an illness. Continuing with an organizational theme for the last several years, the Islanders once again have one of the lowest-scoring rosters in the league, with only five players scoring more than five goals through 20 or more games. Barzal, who is leading the team in points, has seven goals and 16 assists, once again showing off his elite playmaking abilities.
  • One of the missing players from the Columbus Blue Jackets practice this morning was forward Cole Sillinger, who is out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day (X Link). Although Columbus has picked things up a tad since a rough start to the season, Sillinger is now in his second season of dramatically struggling with production. In 88 games played over the last two seasons, Sillinger has only scored four goals and 16 assists, after scoring 16 goals and 15 assists in 79 games in his rookie season.

Snapshots: Zadorov, Sillinger, Smith

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Although Nikita Zadorov has yet to make his debut for the Vancouver Canucks, talk has already begun on his longer-term future with the club. The pending unrestricted free agent defenseman would be open to extending his contract with the team, according to his agent, Dan Milstein. Milstein said in an interview with CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal that he and the Canucks “will sit down and exchange thoughts,” adding that “hopefully there is a deal” to be had on a new contract.

Zadorov, 28, is currently playing on a $3.75MM cap hit. Whether or not he can match that kind of yearly outlay on his next contract will likely depend on how he fits into Vancouver’s overall defensive structure and coach Rick Tocchet’s system. Without much offense to speak of in his game, it’s fair to wonder whether Vancouver can afford to offer Zadorov a pay raise. With Filip Hronek on pace to score 79 points and in need of his own contract extension, the Canucks may not have the kind of room to pay Zadorov on a market-rate contract.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Columbus Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda. That’s less than ideal news for Columbus, as Sillinger is still widely seen as a core part of the team’s future. While he hasn’t quite reached the heights of his 16-goal, 31-point rookie season, Sillinger has managed nine points in 24 games this year and seemed to build some solid chemistry with other young Blue Jackets forwards such as Dmitri Voronkov and Yegor Chinakhov.
  • The Hockey News’ Max Miller relays word from San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn, who says forward Givani Smith will be a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Smith, 25, is dealing with a “mid-body injury” according to Quinn. A relentless, physical forward, the injury cost Smith most of yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins. He has three points and 29 penalty minutes in 21 games this year.

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