Evgeni Malkin Undergoes Knee Surgery, Expected To Miss Time
As Evgeni Malkin prepares for the final year of his current contract in 2021-22 and tries to broker a possible extension this off-season, he now faces a potential hurdle to finding success at both. The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that Malkin has undergone surgery on his right knee and a lengthy rehab is expected. The team does not anticipate that Malkin will be available for training camp in September and will not re-evaluate Malkin’s recovery until that time, which could lead to a further absence.
Malkin suffered the knee injury all the way back in mid-March and missed the final six weeks of the regular season and the first two games of the Penguins’ first round series against the New York Islanders. To his credit, Malkin did return for the final four games of that series, playing on what was clearly a severely damaged knee. For a player that has a reputation of being more on the fragile side, it is refreshing for Penguins fans to see that their star was able to fight through the pain in an effort to keep the team’s season alive. While he nevertheless failed in that pursuit, it could be to the benefit of next season and beyond. If Pittsburgh had advanced and Malkin continued to play, the surgery would have been delayed and the injury could have worsened in the meantime, likely leading to a much longer absence next season.
Malkin’s future is still somewhat of a question mark though. Despite a recent vote of confidence from new GM Ron Hextall, Malkin will be 35 years old next season and coming off of a poor year by his standards and has played more than 70 games once in the past nine seasons. Now he has undergone major surgery and faces a long recovery period and then will attempt to get up to game speed without any training camp and possibly preseason. The Penguins could be hesitant to give him a pricey, multi-year extension this summer until they see how he responds to this medical setback. Even then, this injury could mean that Malkin’s next deal is not as long as he may have hoped. The long-time star needs to come back strong next season, both in production and durability, in order to prove he can still be a difference-maker for Pittsburgh.
Off-Season Notes: Penguins, Oshie, Rinne
It was another disappointing early playoff exit for the Pittsburgh Penguins but their new front office group, just installed earlier this season, is not looking to blow up the roster. NHL.com’s Wes Crosby writes that Penguins GM Ron Hextall intends to keep his aging core together and to remain in “win-now mode”. That means that contract negotiation talks are underway with center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang. The current deals for the 34-year-old duo expire at the end of next season, but Hextall would like to keep them around and is not currently considering trading either one. “We see a future with this core,” Hextall said. “We’ve got some pretty special players that, they’re obviously not in their 20s anymore, but they’re still playing at a high level.” The GM also expressed his confidence in young goaltender Tristan Jarry and did not label goaltending as an area of concern this off-season. Hextall instead stated that adding size and toughness is his priority this summer.
- There has been considerable speculation that Washington Capitals forward and Washington (state, that is) native T.J. Oshie could be available to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Oshie, 34 and signed for four more years, has been stellar for the Capitals, but has still been considered expendable due to his age and contract. Additionally, the idea that the Kraken would leap at the local product as a veteran leader for their new team would mean that Washington does not need to worry about other valuable expected exposures, like young goaltender Vitek Vanecek or defenseman Brenden Dillon. However, in an interview on 106.7 The Fan in D.C., GM Brian MacLellan called it “unlikely” that Oshie will be exposed. MacLellan called Oshie a “big part” of their team, which is not an understatement after this season. In 2020-21, Oshie showed no signs of age catching up to him, scoring goals and recording points at a career pace. Oshie’s 22 goals and 43 points were both top-three marks for the Capitals and had him on a full-season trajectory of 34 goals and 67 points. Oshie also tied for second in the entire league with 13 power play goals. If he can continue to score at this rate, perhaps his lengthy, expensive contract will continue to be worth it through 2024-25, justifying the decision not to make him available in expansion.
- Although the final days of the Nashville Predators’ regular season certainly implied that we were seeing the end of career Predator and franchise icon Pekka Rinne, the veteran goaltender is not hanging his skate up just yet. In an exit interview with the Nashville communications staff, Rinne states that he has still not made a decision if he will retire or not. Notably, albeit unsurprisingly, is that the only alternative he provides to retirement is re-signing with Nashville. With young Juuse Saros established as the Predators’ current starter and elite prospect Yaroslav Askarov waiting in the wings, there isn’t a long-term need in net for the Predators. However, one more year with Rinne is certainly not a bad option.
Injury Updates: Penguins, Dube, Larkin, Slavin
The Penguins could get center Evgeni Malkin back for one of the next two games in their first-round series against the Islanders but the same can’t be said for goaltender Casey DeSmith. Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Malkin accompanied the team to New York while DeSmith did not. Malkin is believed to be dealing with a recurrence of the knee trouble that caused him to miss most of the second half of the season while DeSmith has missed the last two-plus weeks due to an undisclosed injury. Game three of that series goes on Thursday.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Flames winger Dillon Dube is in concussion protocol after being injured in today’s regular season finale against Vancouver, relays Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is supposed to join Team Canada for the upcoming World Championships but unless he is cleared quickly, he may no longer be able to participate.
- Red Wings center Dylan Larkin won’t need surgery due to the neck injury he suffered late in the season, mentions Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. He expects to be able to resume training in a month and should be ready to go for 2021-22 where he’ll hope to rebound from a quiet campaign that saw him pick up just 23 points in 44 games.
- Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin was out of the lineup for tonight’s second game against Nashville. As Michael Smith of Carolina’s team website notes (Twitter link), the blueliner will be a game-time decision for a while with Slavin ultimately making the decision on when he’ll be able to suit up. He suffered a lower-body injury in their final regular season game and clearly, he has not quite recovered from it just yet.
Evgeni Malkin To Be Activated From Injured Reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have Evgeni Malkin back in the lineup tonight for the first time since March 16. The big center will be activated from injured reserve and make his return to the Penguins roster against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight with just enough time to get his legs back under him before the playoffs. The Penguins have four games remaining and currently sit two points ahead of the Washington Capitals for first place in the East Division.
Malkin, 34, has had a season to forget, struggling at times even when healthy. Still, the future Hall of Fame forward has eight goals and 24 points in 29 games and changes the Penguins lineup considerably. If he can find the level that made him a Hart Trophy candidate last season—when he scored 25 goals and 74 points in 55 games—Pittsburgh will be even tougher to take down.
Of course, with good news usually comes bad and the Penguins had some of that today too. Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Rob Rossi of The Athletic that Mike Matheson is out on a week-to-week basis after taking a puck to the face on Saturday. After struggling earlier in the season the 27-year-old Matheson had really found his game lately, logging important minutes for the Penguins on the back end. Evan Rodrigues is listed as day-to-day and Brandon Tanev, though skating, will not play on Monday.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
East Notes: Ovechkin, Penguins, Hart, Lafreniere
The Washington Capitals were without star forward Alex Ovechkin, who missed his first game Saturday (due to injury) since May 5, 2015 due to a lower-body injury. His ability to stay healthy throughout his career is one reason why many people believe that the 35-year-old has a chance to break the goals scored record (held by Wayne Gretzky). However, the forward will be a game-time decision on Tuesday against the Islanders as well, according to NHL.com.
“I think with some injuries, you don’t know what’s going to go on, whether somebody’s going to be available or not available and that’s why I think people say ‘day to day’, because they’re unsure,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said Saturday. “Will he be there for the next game? I’m not sure at this point, so we’ll err on the side of caution at this point in the season. We’re not going to risk anything as we head towards the playoffs, but hopefully he continues to improve.”
Ovechkin left late in the third period of Thursday’s game with the Islanders due to the injury. He has 24 goals in 43 games this season and sits sixth on the NHL all-time goals leaders with 730, just one short of tying Marcel Dionne.
- Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said (via the Penguins) that injured players Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Tanev and Frederick Gaudreau all skated Sunday morning with the taxi squad. While the coach admitted they all are making progress, he said their status with the team has not changed. Malkin has been out with a lower body injury since March 16. Tanev has appeared in just two games since March 18 with an upper-body injury, while Gaudreau has been out since April 11 with a lower-body injury.
- With just nine games remaining in the Philadelphia Flyers season, Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ed Barkowitz writes that one of the key things to watch is the return and the play of young goaltender Carter Hart. However, head coach Alain Vigneault has not indicated when Hart will return from the mild knee sprain he suffered on April 15, suggesting it might be a bit longer before he returns to the ice. The team is 1-2-1 without him since the injury.
- The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that New York Rangers rookie Alexis Lafreniere looked impressive Friday when he was promoted to the top line next to Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich when Chris Kreider sat out, scoring a goal and an assist in the process. The scribe writes that the team might benefit during the final stretch of games remaining this season to see what Lafreniere can do on the top line.
East Notes: Malkin, Siegenthaler, Chara, Capitals
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin returned to practice on Friday with a non-contact jersey as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury that’s believed to be a knee issue, notes Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The veteran has been out since mid-March and is currently on LTIR. If he’s able to return between now and the end of the regular season, Pittsburgh will need to clear just over $2.6MM off their books to get cap compliant before he can be activated. Injuries have limited the 34-year-old to just 29 games this season and he hasn’t been as productive as usual with eight goals and 16 assists in those contests.
More from the East Division:
- Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler has been placed in COVID protocol, the team announced (Twitter link). New Jersey acquired the 23-year-old earlier this month and had given him a bigger role as Siegenthaler has averaged 17:10 per game in six contests with the Devils after logging just 13:23 per game in seven matches with Washington. Colton White was recalled to take Siegenthaler’s place in the lineup.
- The Rangers were among the teams that showed considerable interest in Zdeno Chara last offseason, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 43-year-old was eyed as a mentor to what has become a very young back end with five rearguards aged 23 or younger suiting up against Philadelphia earlier in the week. However, Chara opted to sign with Washington in the hopes of a long playoff run. New York is likely going to have a similar desire to add a veteran for next year as well but they may be better served going after someone that can play a bit higher in the lineup.
- The Capitals will be keeping their AHL coaching staff around for the foreseeable future as the team announced recently that head coach Spencer Carbery, assistant coach Patrick Wellar, and associate goalie coach Alex Westlund have all signed multi-year contract extensions. Carbery is in his third season at the helm with Hershey with the Bears posting a .702 points percentage over that span. Hershey has a 16-5-2 record this season to lead the seven-team North Division in points with 34.
Injury Notes: Gallagher, Tanev, Eichel, Andersen
Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin spoke with the media today following the passing of the trade deadline and did not parse words when asked about injured star Brendan Gallagher. Bergevin does not believe that Gallagher has a chance to play prior to the conclusion of the regular season, he openly admitted. This would align with the six-week timeframe that Gallagher received after fracturing his thumb this past week. There was some optimism that Gallagher could return before the Canadiens’ season is currently scheduled to end on May 11, but Bergevin either does not see this as realistic or simply will not rush Gallagher back to play regular season games. With the North Division playoff teams all but set, Montreal faces little risk of missing the postseason so the priority with Gallagher is only to get him as healthy as possible for the playoffs.
- Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall had similar things to say about one of his own players today. Hextall told the media that the move to acquire Jeff Carter was at least partially influenced by the belief that Brandon Tanev will not play again in the regular season. He stated that Tanev’s upper-body injury, which landed him on Long-Term Injured Reserve, is a “tough injury to judge” but that he does not believe the rugged forward can return before the playoffs. Tanev has been a scoring presence and a physical presence for the Penguins this year and the team will have to replace his output in a number of areas. Fortunately, Hextall at least noted that Kasperi Kapanen is expected back in 10-14 days and Evgeni Malkin is likely to play again before the end of the regular season.
- The Buffalo Sabres’ season is obviously lost and the team will not rush injured superstar Jack Eichel back into action to play meaningless games. GM Kevyn Adams spoke to the media today and stated that Eichel has not officially been shut down for the year, but he is at least out for a while longer. The superb center has missed 18 games since suffering a neck injury in early March and has only made “slight improvement” in that time per Adams. He did not rule out Eichel playing in some of the Sabres’ final games, but by that point it seems even more unlikely that the team will see any value in putting him back in the lineup.
- One GM did share some optimism with the media today regarding a key injury. Toronto’s Kyle Dubas made it clear that he does not consider starting goaltender Frederik Andersen to be done for the season. Andersen’s has been struggling with a nagging injury and to this point there has been no timetable for his return. As a result, Dubas made a major addition in net by trading for David Rittich to pair with the red-hot Jack Campbell, but he did not rule out Andersen taking his job back at some point. Dubas did not try to guess as to whether Andersen would be able to return before the end of the regular season or if he would instead be active for the playoffs, but he simply believes that Andersen will play for the Maple Leafs again this year. For the impending free agent, pushing through the pain to get back on the ice may be Andersen’s last chance of suiting up for Toronto again.
Injury Notes: Zucker, Malkin, Hischier, Andersen
The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially activated Jason Zucker from injured reserve and have listed him as a game-time decision for their contest tonight against the New York Islanders. Zucker is returning much quicker than many had anticipated when he went down with a lower-body injury in late-February but will be a welcome addition to the Penguins lineup.
Now 29, Zucker has just seven points in 17 games for Pittsburgh this season but is coming back at the perfect time. The team has moved Evgeni Malkin to long-term injured reserve retroactive to March 16 meaning he will miss at least six more games. Drew O’Connor and Jonathan Gruden have also been moved to the taxi squad.
- Another East Division team got some good injury news, as Nico Hischier has resumed workouts and cardio activity after his recent sinus fracture. There is still no timetable for Hischier’s return, but Devils head coach Lindy Ruff expressed some optimism for the young forward, saying he is “progressing” in his recovery. Hischier underwent surgery to repair the fracture on March 15 and was given a three-week timeline, meaning he is still expected back early next month.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs will have Michael Hutchinson in net tonight as they try to limit the workload for Jack Campbell, who has taken over starting duties in Frederik Andersen‘s absence. Toronto has been very tight-lipped when it comes to Andersen’s injury, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that the team does not currently believe that it is season-ending. Of course, if it were to keep Andersen out the rest of the regular season, the Maple Leafs would have some added cap flexibility through long-term injured reserve. Friedman suspects the front office has “a move or two in his back pocket” for when the cap numbers work. Andersen hasn’t played since March 19.
Penguins Place Evgeni Malkin And Teddy Blueger On IR
There is some good news and bad news on the injury front for the Penguins. First, the bad, as the team announced that centers Evgeni Malkin and Teddy Blueger have been placed on injured reserve. Malkin’s move was made retroactive to March 16th while Blueger’s placement is effective one day earlier.
Malkin was injured in Tuesday’s game against Boston in the first period as he played just four shifts. He had been on the best offensive stretch of his season before that, notching four goals and eight assists on an eight-game point streak. It helped turn around what had been a fairly quiet season by his standards as he now has eight goals and 16 assists in 29 games to sit third on the team.
As for Blueger, he’s in the midst of a career year offensively with 15 points in his first 29 games this season. He has also shown improvement at the faceoff dot, winning just over half of his draws which has helped him become a fixture behind Malkin and Sidney Crosby down the middle.
The good news for Pittsburgh is that defenseman John Marino was activated off IR in advance of tonight’s game against New Jersey after missing four games with an upper-body issue. While his offensive numbers have dropped sharply this year with just five points in 26 games after having 26 points in 56 games in his rookie year, Marino has logged heavy minutes on their back end, averaging just shy of 23 per game which makes him a welcome return to their lineup.
The team also announced a series of several roster moves. Wingers Anthony Angello, Frederick Gaudreau, and Colton Sceviour were all recalled from the taxi squad. Sceviour is the most notable of the group having played in 21 games this season although he cleared waivers last Tuesday. Meanwhile, winger Josh Currie and blueliner Josh Maniscalco were recalled to the taxi squad from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in order to keep the taxi squad compliant with at least four players on it.
Penguins Notes: Zucker, Trade Deadline, Extension Talks, Undrafted Free Agents
While the Penguins will be without Jason Zucker for a while yet with his lower-body injury, GM Ron Hextall expressed some optimism that he will be able to return before the end of the regular season in an interview with Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It has been a tough first ‘full’ season with Pittsburgh for the 29-year-old as he has just four goals and three assists in 17 games but he’d undoubtedly give them a lift for the stretch run if he’s able to return.
Of course, there are some salary cap considerations at play. Zucker is currently on LTIR resulting in some extra flexibility (up to his $5.5MM AAV) for the Penguins heading into the deadline. However, with the belief that he’ll be able to return, Pittsburgh can’t really use that money to add an impact piece as they’d need to get back into cap compliance before they can activate him. Accordingly, their potential for spending will be limited.
While the full interview is definitely worth a read, here are a few other highlights from Hextall’s discussion with Rorabaugh:
- If the new GM had his way, he’d be able to add some grit to the roster before the trade deadline, calling it something on his wish list. Given that the Pens are likely to be shopping for lower-priced players due to Zucker’s possible return, it’s an area that they could address, albeit on a more limited scale such as the fourth line.
- Long-time veterans Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin are eligible to sign contract extensions this summer but Hextall didn’t seem to be too much of a rush to get the ball rolling on that, saying he’d get to those when the time is right. Deals can’t be signed until the official start of the 2021-22 calendar but as we’ve often seen in recent years, frameworks for those deals have been hammered out before that time.
- Hextall also acknowledged that there are some players on both the college and European free agent markets that are of interest to the team. College free agency should really start to pick up over the coming weeks while the international market is another couple of months away from really getting going.