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Atlantic Notes: Toronto’s Goaltending, Batherson, Pinto, Allen, Grzelcyk

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To say Toronto’s goaltending has struggled as of late would be an understatement.  Now, Jack Campbell is on injured reserve and Petr Mrazek didn’t exactly fare any better in his first game as the short-term starter.  However, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun cautions that the Maple Leafs making a trade for a goalie wouldn’t necessarily be worth doing.  Most of the goaltenders that are believed to be available aren’t sure-fire upgrades over Campbell and Mrazek and it’s quite possible that Campbell would still be the starter for the playoffs.  Considering that Toronto has limited cap space to work with (since Jake Muzzin is expected to return before the season ends), would that be better off being used on a player who will play in every game over one that would more or less be a short-term goalie stopgap that isn’t necessarily an improvement over their current options?

More from the Atlantic:

  • Although Senators winger Drake Batherson has returned to practice, he won’t play in Ottawa’s current five-game homestand, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 23-year-old has averaged over a point per game this season with 34 points in 31 games but hasn’t played since late January when he suffered a high ankle sprain.  Meanwhile, Ottawa expects to find out in the next couple of weeks if center Shane Pinto will be able to return at some point this season.  The rookie was expected to be a big part of their lineup this season but a shoulder injury has limited him to just five games so far.
  • While Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen has resumed skating, he won’t suit up in either of Montreal’s games this weekend, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 31-year-old is having a tough year like many are in Montreal and has a .901 SV% in 24 starts this season but has come up as a speculative trade candidate if he’s able to show that he has fully recovered from the lower-body injury that has kept him out for the last two months and get into game action before the March 21st trade deadline.
  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will return tonight against Arizona after missing the last two games – one due to an upper-body injury and the other to illness. The 28-year-old sits second in scoring among Boston defenders with 19 points in 51 games.  Jack Ahcan, who scored his first career NHL goal while taking Grzelcyk’s place in the lineup, will be a healthy scratch.

Montreal Canadiens Issue Several Injury Updates

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The Montreal Canadiens are on fire. The team has won four in a row under new head coach Martin St. Louis, with Cole Caufield looking reborn. The team is still dead last in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve now passed the Arizona Coyotes and are at least showing some fight for the future. With that in mind, the team has issued several updates on their injured players, starting with Carey Price.

Price is “doing better” in his off-ice rehab, but he’s still not ready to return to the ice just yet. The 34-year-old goaltender has been out all year for various reasons and may end up missing the entire year. The Canadiens aren’t rushing anything in their franchise goaltender’s rehabilitation, knowing that there’s not really any benefit in getting him back into games this season.

Corey Schueneman has been cleared from the COVID protocol and returned to practice today. He was joined by several other teammates that have been dealing with injuries. Joel Armia was at practice, is listed as day-to-day, but won’t play on Saturday night. Mathieu Perreault was a full participant in practice and is also listed as day-to-day. Josh Anderson meanwhile has been cleared to play tomorrow against Ottawa.

The two big ones are Joel Edmundson and Jake Allen, who have been out for quite some time–or in the former’s case, the entire season. Edmundson was on the ice for the first time with teammates, and will travel with the group to Ottawa. He won’t play, but it’s great to see Edmundson back on the ice at all after the nightmare season he has gone through. Allen was also on the ice and is “progressing” though there is no clear timeline on his return. Nor for Paul Byron, who is dealing with an upper-body injury and has no timeline for a return.

Goalie Notes: Oilers, Stars, Fleury, Allen

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It’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers are in pursuit of a goaltender. While the team possesses some truly elite offensive talent, their severe struggle with preventing goals has overshadowed their ability to score. The result is a 26th-ranked 3.42 goals against per game that has directly contributed to the team’s 2-11-2 record in their past 15 games, including a seven-game winless streak. While this does not fall entirely on the netminders, the Oilers have not received much help from the group. Current starter Mikko Koskinen has an .895 save percentage and 3.33 GAA. The current backup, young Stuart Skinner, has outplayed Koskinen but not to a level that has forced the Oilers’ hand. For now, they seem hesitant to place any more responsibility on the 23-year-old. Expected starter Mike Smith has missed all but six games this season due to injuries that have kept his health status in flux all year. Even when healthy, Smith has not performed; he has an .898 save percentage and 3.76 GAA in his handful of outings. Yet, if there was any internal solution to the Oilers’ net woes, it was a return for Smith. So with the report today out of Edmonton that Smith is back on the injured reserve (with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins moving to LTIR), the situation has become even more dire. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday that the Oilers were exploring all options, including Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo. However, with the news of Smith remaining sidelined combined with a current four-game losing streak adding to their nearly two-month long slump, “exploring” might just not be enough any more.

  • Discussing Edmonton’s other trade options in net, LeBrun mentioned the Dallas Stars as a potential partner – namely with third-string Anton Khudobin as the likely target. The veteran keeper cleared waivers earlier this season amidst struggles that even surpass those of Koskinen and Smith. However, Khudobin is just two years removed from leading the league with a .930 save percentage and taking the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019-20, which briefly made him a hero in Dallas. While his numbers dropped off last season, they were well ahead of his current pace. Performance does not seem to actually be the main concern the Oilers have when it comes to Khudobin. Instead, his $3.33MM cap hit and additional year of term makes Edmonton hesitant to pull the trigger, especially considering their current cap crunch and the legitimate question of whether Khudobin is an upgrade to Koskinen. As LeBrun puts it, Khudobin is “less appealing” than other options. However, with Smith seeming less and less likely to be a dependable option this season and desperately in need of points, can the Oilers afford to be picky? If they can acquire Khudobin cheaply and quickly, they may have to do so. LeBrun points out that impending free agent Braden Holtby, who is enjoying a strong campaign, is the superior option on the Stars, but the team may not be willing to move him and will be much more costly to acquire, especially with the Oilers in such obvious need.
  • One potential target mentioned by LeBrun but considered unlikely for the Oilers has all but confirmed that he will not be moving. Star veteran Marc-Andre Fleury of the Chicago Blackhawks is in the final year of his contract and having yet another solid season. This should have made him a prime rental target for any team with a need in net, especially considering that Fleury only has limited trade protection. However, the Blackhawks have stated that they will only move the respected vet if that is what he desired and it seems as though Fleury is happy where he is for now. Fleury told NHL.com’s Tracey Meyers that he is only interested in getting Chicago to the playoffs this season and is not looking to move. This might not be a realistic goal with the Blackhawks .094 percentage points back of the final wild card spot in the West with five teams ahead of them in the race. However, Fleury has earned the right to make that call. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner was just traded this summer and may not be keen to go through that process again so soon, especially at 37 years old and possibly at the end of his career. If the three-time Stanley Cup winner wants to stay loyal to his team rather than make another run, so be it.
  • Another option off the table for the Oilers is Montreal’s Jake Allen. Edmonton needs immediate help and Allen can’t provide it. After leaving a game last week due to injury, the Canadiens have announced that Allen is out approximately eight weeks with an undisclosed lower-body ailment. The Oilers’ struggles this season pale in comparison to the Habs’, who find themselves with the worst record in the NHL after playing in the Stanley Cup Final just last year. Everyone is available for the right price in Montreal, including Allen even though he has performed admirably in Carey Price’s absence over the past two seasons. Allen is signed at a reasonable $2.875MM through next season and maybe another team will still be interested despite the substantial injury. The Oilers, however, will have to look elsewhere.

Atlantic Notes: Kuzmenko, Boucher, Bruins, Allen

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Free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko appears to have narrowed his list of teams he’s considering signing with for next season and the Senators are on that list, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link).  Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion indicated recently they were interested in the 25-year-old who sits second in KHL scoring this season with 20 goals and 33 assists in 45 games.  Kuzmenko is expected to wait until after the season to sign, ensuring he’ll be capped at a one-year, entry-level pact while allowing him to be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the 2023 offseason.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with Ottawa, Dorion mentioned in an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link) that winger Tyler Boucher won’t be playing right away with OHL Ottawa. The Senators recently signed the 2021 first-round pick, ending his college eligibility but he is dealing with a lingering injury that will take a week or two to recover.
  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Derek Forbort has cleared COVID protocol, missing only the minimum five days. His return will be a welcome one with John Moore being injured against Montreal on Wednesday and Matt Grzelcyk recently entering COVID protocol himself.  Meanwhile, forward Trent Frederic isn’t ready to return yet from his upper-body injury while winger Nick Foligno has resumed skating as he works his way back from his lower-body issue.
  • The Canadiens announced that goaltender Jake Allen has returned to Montreal to undergo further evaluation on an upper-body injury sustained on Wednesday in Boston. Allen was placed on injured reserve yesterday and will miss at least a week while the team won’t return back home until January 27th when their 10-game road trip (due to scheduling changes) comes to an end.

Snapshots: Hertl, Allen, Byron

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The San Jose Sharks’ unexpected rise back to relevancy this season has answered a lot of questions, but the Tomas Hertl situation still hangs over the team’s heads. On TSN’s Insider Trading program today, Pierre LeBrun says he expects the Sharks to “circle back” with Hertl and give him an extension offer. The pending unrestricted free agent has 31 points in 37 games this season. The team’s lone 20-goal scorer so far is in the final year of a four-year, $22.5MM contract. In the case that Hertl doesn’t agree to an extension prior to the trade deadline, though, LeBrun notes the trade front is still an option. Hertl has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams to which he’ll accept a trade. LeBrun believes the New York Rangers would be an option, a team that would obviously be heavily interested in some added forward depth.

Some other notes, this time out of Montreal:

  • After leaving last night’s loss against Boston, Canadiens goalie Jake Allen will be out of the lineup for at least a week, per coach Dominique Ducharme. It’s been a really tough season for Allen, who’s faced injuries and COVID that have limited him to 24 games. He’s Montreal’s undisputed starter, still posting a save percentage above .900 on the worst team in the league. The team has a compressed schedule in the near future, meaning Allen could miss three or four games before he’s ready to dress again.
  • Montreal could be getting a name back from injury soon, though, as forward Paul Byron, who hasn’t played all year due to offseason hip surgery, could be cleared from COVID protocol by the weekend and could join the team on the road. Byron had six points in 22 games last year during Montreal’s playoff run. He’s one of the bigger voices in the room for the Habs, and his leadership presence will be greatly appreciated during this tough season.

Montreal Canadiens Add Five Players To COVID Protocol

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Dec 29: After getting in one game last night, the Canadiens have placed two more in the COVID protocol today. Paul Byron and Cayden Primeau are both now unavailable and join the rest of the absences in the protocol. Byron was closing in on a return from injury and Primeau was expected to play this weekend with Allen unavailable. McNiven will now likely be recalled to backup Sam Montembeault.

Dec 27: The Montreal Canadiens have added another five players to the COVID protocol today, recalling a handful of replacements in the process. Jake Allen, Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson, Jeff Petry, and Chris Wideman have entered the protocol, along with goaltending coach Eric Raymond. The team has recalled Cayden Primeau and Corey Schueneman to the active roster, while also bringing up Brandon Baddock, Gianni Fairbrother, Cam Hillis, and Michael McNiven to the taxi squad. The team will travel to Florida where they are currently scheduled to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night.

The new five will join Laurent Dauphin, Mike Hoffman, Artturi Lehkonen, and Tyler Toffoli, who were already in the protocol. The team also has almost countless injuries, meaning it’s not quite the full Montreal experience heading to face the Lightning. In a lost season for the Canadiens, nearly everything that could have gone wrong has, and they find themselves near the very bottom of the league standings.

If the games are played as scheduled, the team will no longer have to play short after the league amended the salary cap and emergency exception rules yesterday. Still, these recalls bring them close to the organizational limit; Primeau and McNiven were the only two other goaltenders in the organization signed to NHL contracts.

Injury Notes: Canadiens, Flyers, Smith

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The Montreal Canadiens came back with a drastically stronger effort on Saturday night, winning 6-3 against the Nashville Predators for just their fifth victory of the season. They should also be getting some reinforcements in the coming days and weeks, as several updates were given on injured players today.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters including Eric Engels of Sportsnet that Cedric Paquette could be back as early as Wednesday, while Mike Hoffman and Mathieu Perreault skated today. Hoffman is out for at least another week, while Perreault’s vision is not back fully yet but there is optimism he will be okay following his second procedure. Joel Edmundson and Jake Allen were both on the ice today as well, though the former isn’t expected to play just yet and an update on the latter won’t come until tomorrow.

  • While much of the focus today was on the news that Kevin Hayes re-injured himself and is out week-to-week, there were some other updates out of the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Wade Allison has resumed skating and has been cleared for practice with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Unfortunately, Tyson Foerster could miss five months with a shoulder injury. Foerster, a 2020 first-round pick, is one of the handful of junior-aged players that secured an exemption to play in the AHL this season because of their games in 2020-21.
  • Some concern was raised today when a report emerged about Mike Smith’s status, but both Jason Gregor and Ryan Rishaug of TSN tweet that as of now, surgery is not the plan for the Edmonton Oilers goaltender. Rishaug adds that the expectation is still that Smith will return at some point in December. Smith hasn’t played since October 19, but Stuart Skinner has more than made up for his absence with a .939 save percentage in five appearances.

Atlantic Notes: Senators, Jokiharju, Allen

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Although the Senators will be able to return to the ice on Saturday to practice, they still won’t have their full squad available.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that while eight of the players that were in COVID protocol will have cleared (along with associate coach Jack Capuano) winger Drake Batherson and defenseman Nikita Zaitsev (who exited protocol last Saturday only to be re-added later in the day) will remain unavailable for the time being.  If all goes according to plan, Ottawa should be able to get back to action on Monday in Colorado with Batherson and Zaitsev being available to rejoin the team partway during their West Coast road trip.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju should be ready to return next week after missing more than a month due to a lower-body injury sustained in the season-opener, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old logged over 18 minutes a game last season with Buffalo, earning himself a three-year, $7.5MM contract as a first-time restricted free agent back in September that solidifies him as part of their longer-term rebuilding plans.  Jokiharju skated at practice today but head coach Don Granato indicated that the blueliner needs more practice time.
  • While the Canadiens were hoping that Jake Allen would be able to return from his concussion on Saturday against Nashville, that isn’t expected to happen, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The netminder was injured last Saturday against Detroit and Montreal has lost all three games since then, allowing 14 goals in that stretch.

Injury Notes: Canadiens, Pitlick, Sullivan

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Ahead of Sunday’s road tilt for the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins, head coach Dominique Ducharme provided injury updates regarding a few Canadiens players. After leaving Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, goaltender Jake Allen has been assigned a day-to-day status while he undergoes evaluation for a more detailed evaluation. Allen left the contest after a net-front play which resulted in him colliding with Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. Ducharme also notes that Mike Hoffman is absent from the lineup with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, as Adam Brooks draws into the lineup in his place. It’s Hoffman’s second instance of injury this season, missing the team’s first three games of the season with a lower-body injury.

  • Calgary Flames forward Tyler Pitlick is absent from Sunday afternoon’s game against the Ottawa Senators with a lower-body injury. He’s classified as day-to-day, per the team. Forward Walker Duehr was inserted into the lineup, making his NHL debut. Pitlick has just two assists in 12 games this season, playing a bottom-six role, but remains a strong defensive presence if nothing else.
  • After being activated from the league’s COVID-19 protocols today, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan doesn’t think he’ll be available for Thursday night’s game in Montreal due to border restrictions. Sullivan will be behind the bench for Sunday’s game against Washington and Tuesday’s game against Buffalo barring any unforeseen circumstances. The Penguins have dropped three out of five as they finally look to be close to healthy for the first time this season.

Jake Allen Injured, Expected To Miss Time

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Carey Price may be out of the NHL/NHLPA Assistance Program and back with the Montreal Canadiens, but he has yet to actually suit up for the team. Price’s readiness may have just become much more dire, as his understudy is now be out of commission. In Saturday night’s match-up with the Detroit Red Wings, starter Jake Allen was forced out of the game after an ugly collision in net in the first period. Detroit’s Dylan Larkin was shoved from behind by Habs defenseman Jeff Petry while on a net drive and had no time to stop before crashing into Allen (video). Initially, it actually appeared that Larkin received the worst of the blow, with Allen seeming alright. Yet, it was Allen who eventually left the game while Larkin returned (and scored a pair of critical goals, including the overtime game-winner.)

If there was any optimism that Allen was kept out only as a precaution and would be able to return to action right away, that was quickly erased after the game. With the Canadiens turning around and traveling to play the rival Bruins on Sunday, the team announced that Cayden Primeau had been recalled and would meet the team in Boston. After Samuel Montembeault played most of the game on Saturday, Primeau may even be the starter on Sunday, as Allen is clearly not available. Just how long Allen will be out remains the critical question.

While there has been no word yet on the severity of Allen’s injury, an extended absence would be a major blow to an already-struggling Montreal squad. Allen has started 14 of 16 games for the Canadiens and has been playing well. Montembeault is a different story, as there is a reason Allen has been a workhorse for the team. The 25-year-old waiver claim has an .885 save percentage and 3.69 GAA in four appearances this season and sadly this is not far from his career NHL numbers either. If Price and Allen are unavailable and Montembeault becomes the de facto starter, life will get even more difficult for the Habs. Primeau, 22, has some brief NHL experience of his own, but his 2020-21 numbers were disastrous and set the young goalie back in his development. Primeau is off to a good start with the AHL’s Laval Rocket this season, but has yet to show he is ready for the NHL. The team hopes Allen is not sidelined long-term or that Price can finally make his return, because the outlook of their young replacement tandem is bleak.

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