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Mark Borowiecki

Snapshots: Borowiecki, Subban, McDavid

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Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki has missed the last 15 games due to a shoulder injury and it doesn’t appear as if a return is imminent.  Head coach Guy Boucher told Postmedia’s Don Brennan that although he’s getting closer to playing, he’s not expected to suit up until mid-January at the very least.  Considering how long he has sat, it will likely take some time to get his conditioning back as well.  2017-18 hasn’t been a great season so far for the 28-year-old who has only played a dozen games thanks to this injury as well as an upper-body issue that cost him a pair of games in October and an illness that kept him out for five more.  About the only thing that has gone well for Borowiecki so far is the two-year contract extension he inked just before the season got underway.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Vegas GM George McPhee acknowledged to Gary Lawless on the Golden Knights’ team site that they nearly opted to select goaltender Malcolm Subban over defenseman Colin Miller from the Bruins back at the Expansion Draft. They opted to go with the latter with the thought that they could subsequently trade for Subban.  That didn’t happen as planned but they wound up with both anyway after the Bruins waived the netminder after training camp.  It has all worked out quite well for Vegas as Subban has proven to be a solid backup while Miller is their highest-scoring defender with 19 points already, a new career-high.
  • Although Oilers center Connor McDavid left Saturday’s game late being able to put very little pressure on his foot following a blocked shot, indications are that he should be fine. Speaking with the media (including Postmedia’s Jim Matheson) following the game, head coach Todd McLellan indicated that x-rays were negative and that they fully expect him to suit for their next game on Wednesday against Winnipeg.

Injury Updates: Senators, Blue Jackets, Burakovsky, Hanzal

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While the Senators got some tough news yesterday on the injury front after it was revealed that defenseman Chris Wideman will undergo hamstring surgery on Monday that puts his availability for the rest of the season into question, that’s not the only bad news from their back end.  Head coach Guy Boucher told reporters, including Postmedia’s Ken Warren, that blueliner Mark Borowiecki continues to experience concussion symptoms despite being inactive.  As a result, it’s hard to imagine that he will be able to return to the lineup anytime soon either.  That gives youngsters like Thomas Chabot and Ben Harpur a chance to really solidify a spot on Ottawa’s back end in the weeks and months to come.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • The Blue Jackets have activated winger Matt Calvert off of injured reserve, per a team release. He had missed the last dozen games due to an upper-body injury.  Prior to getting hurt a month ago, Calvert had gotten off to a strong start to his season with three goals and five assists in 14 contests.  To make room for him on the roster, the team placed defenseman Ryan Murray on IR with an upper-body issue of his own.  He has missed the last two games which means they can back-date the placement to late-November.
  • Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky is on pace to return to Washington’s lineup within the next three weeks, reports Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. He has been sidelined since late October after undergoing thumb surgery.  The original timeline for his return was six-to-eight weeks so he appears to be on right on schedule.  Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports Washington adds that Burakovsky was skating earlier today and doing some light shooting which is certainly a good sign as well.
  • Martin Hanzal’s tough year with the Stars continues. After missing time due to a lower-body injury as well as a hand injury already, the center is now listed as week-to-week with a hamstring issue, notes NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro (Twitter link).  When healthy, Hanzal has yet to live up to his three-year, $14.25MM contract he signed back in July; he has just a goal and two assists in 19 games this season.

Snapshots: Bouwmeester, Chabot, Grundstrom

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The top team in the Western Conference just got better. The St. Louis Blues, who have an impressive 15-5-1 record already, have announced that they have activated All-Star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester from the injured reserve. Bouwmeester has not yet played this season, sidelined with an ankle injury suffered in training camp, but could be ready to go as early as Tuesday. Bouwmeester has scored 37 or more points in five seasons over his fourteen-year NHL career, though his role with the Blues has been much more two-way than purely offensive since arriving in St. Louis. With Alex Pietrangelo scoring nearly a point per game thus far and youngsters Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson contributing offense as well, a more two-way minded Bouwmeester makes the Blue even more balanced and that much more dangerous.

  • With Mark Borowiecki sidelined, the Ottawa Senators announced the recall of highly-touted defensive prospect Thomas Chabot. Many expected Chabot to have a regular NHL role in 2017-18, but he has instead spent his first pro season almost exclusively with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. Yet, Chabot has seven points and a -7 rating in twelve AHL games and two points and a +4 rating in three NHL games. The high-end offensive skill that the 2015 18th-overall pick possesses makes his transition to the highest level and easier one and another successful stint in Ottawa could make it difficult for the Senators to return him to the minors, despite their ample blue line depth.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Carl Grundstrom suffered a major knee injury and underwent knee surgery today. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler gives Grundstrom’s rehab time as a wide range of four weeks to twenty weeks, while others see the injury as season-ending. The 2016 second-rounder had five goals in eleven games for the Swedish club Frolunda, whom the Leafs had loaned him to for the 2017-18 season.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Bouwmeester, Eichel, Backes, Borowiecki

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The NHL announced their “Three Stars” of the week ending on Nov. 19, with Carolina Hurricane’s Teuvo Teravainen taking top honors after a week in which he led the NHL with five goals and 10 assists in four games. The 23-year-old forward posted his first NHL hat trick against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 13, then had two assists on Nov. 16 against the New York Islanders. He had one assist against the Buffalo Sabres two days later before putting up two goals and another assist against the Islanders Sunday.

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen and Colorado Avalanche’s center Nathan MacKinnon each received the second and third stars of the week, respectively. Andersen was perfect in two starts for Toronto, stopping 75 shots and helping Toronto to a six-game winning streak, while MacKinnon scored two goals and had five assists in the team’s two wins. The 22-year-old had career highs with four assists and five points in the team’s victory over the Washington Capitals on Nov. 16.

  • St. Louis Blues head coach Mike Yeo said the plan is to take defenseman Jay Bouwmeester off injured reserve today and is expected to return to the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. The 34-year-old blueliner has not played yet this year due to an ankle fracture, but should provide a big boost to the team’s penalty killing unit immediately. Thomas also notes that Patrik Berglund will not play versus Edmonton on Tuesday, but is inching closer to a return to the ice after missing the entire season so far after undergoing shoulder surgery.
  • Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel looks to have been demoted to the team’s third line at Monday’s practice ahead of their game tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to Amy Moritz of The Buffalo News. Head coach Phil Housley placed him with Zemgus Girgensons and Jason Pominville. “We’re obviously trying to get things going and switch things up so we’ll see tonight,” Eichel said of the new line combinations. “No message. It’s part of the game.”
  • Steven Harris of the Boston Herald writes that just three weeks removed after having part of his colon removed, Boston Bruins’ David Backes returned to practice today in a non-contact sweater. Despite an eight-week prognosis, Backes was skating, shooting and handling pucks. “The doc’s advice (was), if it doesn’t hurt, I can continue to progress and add more workload on,” said Backes. “I haven’t been notified that the timeline has changed at all. So I’m just going to keep putting in the work.”
  • Edmonton Sun’s Ken Warren reported that Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki will return to Ottawa after sustaining a viscous hit Sunday from New York Rangers defenseman Brandon Smith that left the Senators’ blueliner momentarily unconscious after he hit the boards. He will be further evaluated once he returns to Ottawa, and could miss significant time as coach Guy Boucher referred to the injury as a concussion.

Ottawa Senators Activate Ryan, Borowiecki From Injured Reserve

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The Ottawa Senators got some good news on the health front today, as they activated both Bobby Ryan and Mark Borowiecki from injured reserve. The Senators are off until Thursday, when the pair are expected to get into the lineup.

Ryan is coming back off his latest finger injury, the fifth consecutive season he’s had to deal with a hand problem of some sort. The top-paid player on the Senators was off to a pretty good start this year, with six assists in eight games. Though he hadn’t been able to score a goal himself, he had already put up a quarter of his point total from all of last season.

The 30-year old forward silenced many critics in the playoffs last season, when he came to life as one of the team’s best players. With 15 points in 19 games, he was a huge part of the Senators coming within a game of the Stanley Cup Finals. He’ll likely see time next to Ottawa newcomer Matt Duchene, hopefully finding some early chemistry. That duo will be counted on this season, as they combine for $13.25MM in salary this year.

Borowiecki is also an important piece who has faced some controversy among fans and media. His hard-nosed play style can sometimes be seen as a throwback to an NHL far gone, but continually his teammates speak highly of him both on and off the ice. Borowiecki is a wrecking ball on the ice, recording 28 hits in just nine games this season. That total puts him ahead of all but one defender on the team (Frederik Claesson) despite having missed seven games.

Injury Updates: Bonino, Parise, Nemeth, Borowiecki

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Although the Predators are calling center Nick Bonino’s lower-body injury a day-to-day issue, his agent, Peter Fish, told Adam Vingan of The Tennessean that he’s likely to miss a couple of weeks instead.  He did not play last night after suffering the injury on Saturday and Vingan notes that Bonino was spotted with a brace on his left ankle on Monday at practice.  His first season in Nashville hasn’t been the healthiest as he missed the entire preseason while recovering from a fractured tibia sustained with Pittsburgh back in the Stanley Cup Final although Fish told Vingan that this current injury isn’t related to that one.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • Despite leaving practice on Monday due to a setback, the Wild have yet to rule winger Zach Parise out of their next game on Friday, notes Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press. The veteran has yet to play this season due to continued back issues and has had his expected season debut delayed a couple of times already.
  • The Avalanche received some good news when it came to defenseman Patrik Nemeth. Although there were some concerns that he may have dislocated or separated his shoulder in a fight with Stars center Tyler Seguin on Saturday, BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reports that Nemeth could be given the green light to return to the lineup as early as Thursday.
  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mark Borowiecki is listed as day-to-day and will not play on Thursday night. He sustained what appeared to be a shoulder injury in a fight with Vancouver winger Derek Dorsett and did not return for the third period.

Ottawa Senators Extend Mark Borowiecki

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The Ottawa Senators have signed defenseman Mark Borowiecki to a two-year contract extension. The deal will kick in for the 2018-19 season, and carries an average annual value of $1.2MM. Borowiecki is heading into the final year of his three-year, $3.3MM extension signed in 2014, and has established himself as a full-time member of the Senators blueline.

"<strongBorowiecki, 28, is an Ottawa native that has made it a long way from the fifth-round. Selected 139th-overall in 2008, a stint at Clarkson University before continually showing off his wrecking ball-like qualities in the minor leagues finally got him a chance. He stuck, and has now played at least 63 games in each of the last three seasons with the Senators. As he’s gotten more comfortable in the league his physical play has only increased, to the point of registering a league-leading 364 hits last year. Even more impressive, is the fact that he did that in just 14 minutes of ice time a night playing on the Senators’ third pairing.

The hitting machine won’t provide much offense, but with the system that the Senators play—which forces the puck to his side of the ice at the defending blueline—Borowicki is able to blast players over and over. In 217 games he’s recorded 17 points, 436 penalty minutes and 939 hits.  Still, some would complain that the team would be better off with a more capable puck moving defenseman that can move up in the lineup. The team seems to be in no danger of needing him to play more minutes though, as Dion Phaneuf, Johnny Oduya are both locked in on the left side with Thomas Chabot and Ben Harpur still to come.

$1.2MM will be just a slight increase on the $1.1MM he earns this year, but will help the Senators keep costs low as they inch closer to an Erik Karlsson extension. The team has to sign Mark Stone, Kyle Turris and Cody Ceci this summer, while Karlsson and Derick Brassard are up the year after that. It doesn’t look like they’ll be able to keep everyone happy, so plugging in a relatively cheap veteran option on the bottom pair helps quite a bit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Ryan, Ottawa Injuries, Rutta, Coreau

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Partway through the season, it seemed like a given that Senators GM Pierre Dorion would approach Bobby Ryan about waiving his no-move clause for the upcoming expansion draft.  However, after a postseason where he was dominant, Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun believes that he is now a must-protect player.

Ryan led all Ottawa forwards in scoring in the playoffs with 15 points (6-9-15) in 19 games and Brennan suggests that the 30 year old is now starting to better grasp head coach Guy Boucher’s system, something he said he was having some difficulty with earlier in the season.  However, it’s also hard to overlook the fact he has five years left on a deal that carries a cap hit of $7.25MM.  The Sens are a lower budget team and Ryan has yet to surpass 56 points in any of his four seasons with the team; freeing up that money would give them some flexibility heading into the rest of the offseason.

At the end of the day, despite his postseason success, the contract may be enough of a deterrent for Vegas anyway and if that’s the case, Dorion would be wise to see if Ryan would be willing to waive his no-move, allowing the team to protect an additional forward.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Still with the Sens, blueliner Mark Borowiecki has a torn labrum in his shoulder but will not require surgery this summer, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun (Twitter links). Fellow defender Cody Ceci had also been dealing with injury issues; he mentioned to reports (including Garrioch) that he played with a broken finger more than once during the course of the year.
  • Czech defenseman Jan Rutta is leaning towards signing with the Blackhawks, Fox Sports Midwest Andy Strickland reports via Twitter. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that a final decision could come this weekend and that six teams are in the mix.  The 26 year old had a breakout season with Piráti Chomutov of the Czech Extraliga in 2016-17, recording a career high 32 points in 46 regular season games while tacking on another 13 points in 17 postseason contests.  He recently suited up for the Czechs at the World Championships, taking part in eight games while logging 15:22 of ice time per game.  Edmonton and Calgary are among the other teams who have shown interest in Rutta’s services.
  • With Detroit goalie Jared Coreau becoming waiver eligible next season and Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek on the roster, MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that the Wings could carry three goalies to start next season if no one is moved over the summer. Coreau had a good start to his NHL stint last season but struggled in his final few outings which, coupled with his waiver situation, wouldn’t give him a lot of trade value at this time.  Khan notes that the team has gone this way in the past when they were worried about losing Joey MacDonald at the start of the year back in 2006-07 and already had Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood in the fold.  (They wound up waiving MacDonald later in the season, losing him to Boston.)

Morning Notes: Babcock, Maple Leafs, Borowiecki

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The Toronto Maple Leafs fan base has been abuzz over the last few days after seeing pictures of Mike Babcock at games 3 and 4 between Nashville and Anaheim, even being joined by GM Lou Lamoriello for the latter. His appearance immediately made many think that he was scouting Ducks defensemen eligible for the expansion draft, though Sportsnet’s Luke Fox has an additional theory.

Predators captain Mike Fisher will be a free agent this summer, and though he’s obviously tied strongly to the Nashville community—he’s married to country music star Carrie Underwood after all—the numbers might just not leave enough room for him. Nashville has a busy offseason ahead of them, with both Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson hitting restricted free agency. If Fisher were to hit the open market, Toronto would likely be interested after the comments Babcock made earlier this year about him.

  • Maple Leafs fans will also be happy to see the success of their two young stars at the World Championships. Mitch Marner and William Nylander have been some of the best forwards in the tournament thus far, with Nylander especially finding incredible chemistry with playoff-foe Nicklas Backstrom. Nylander and Backstrom have a long history, going back to the latter’s rookie season in Washington when he was welcomed into the home of then-teammate Michael Nylander, William’s father. The two, almost 10 years apart, spent a lot of time together during those first two seasons playing ping-pong in the basement or mini-sticks in the hallway. It seems all that time spent so many years ago has created a sort of familiarity on the ice, that has blossomed into some incredible goals since Backstrom joined the tournament.
  • The Ottawa Senators won’t get Mark Borowiecki back tonight, though he took the morning skate with the team. According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, the bruising defenseman suffered a setback pushing too hard to try and get back on the ice. He still hopes to return in this series, which would stretch to next Thursday should it go all seven games. The Senators will try to take a commanding 3-1 series lead tonight as they take on the Penguins at home.

 

East Notes: Pittsburgh Free Agents, Morin, Borowiecki

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The Penguins have yet to engage in contract extensions with any of their pending free agents (restricted or unrestricted), GM Jim Rutherford told Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Instead, the team plans to wait until Pittsburgh finishes up their postseason run and then deal with contract talks at that time.  While it potentially presents a situation where a bunch of deals need to get done in a short period of time, Rutherford noted he used the same idea during Carolina’s Stanley Cup run in 2006 and it worked quite well:

“When Carolina won the Cup in ’06, I think I had 13 free agents to sign in 10 days, and for me, it was a lot easier that way. Because you cut out all of the baloney in between. You go around and around about things that don’t even matter in negotiations. When you get down to the end, you get right to the point and get it done.”

The team has several free agents of note to deal with before the end of June.  Defensemen Justin Schultz and Brian Dumoulin, as well as winger Conor Sheary are all restricted while center Nick Bonino and blueliner Trevor Daley are among those who are slated to hit the open market as unrestricted free agents in July which means Rutherford will have his work cut out for him when the playoffs end.

Other notes from around the East:

  • Flyers prospect Samuel Morin recently underwent surgery on both of his wrists, notes CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio. There has been no announcement as to when the injury occurred; Morin didn’t miss any action during his postseason run with Philadelphia’s AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley.  Morin is expected to make a push for a regular roster spot with the Flyers next season on what is likely to be a considerably younger back end.
  • Although he won’t be available when the puck drops on Game One of their Conference Final series against Pittsburgh later today, Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki is expected to be available around the midway point of the series, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. In the meantime, the team will continue to rely on Ben Harpur and Fredrik Claesson to hold down that spot in the lineup.

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