Injury Notes: Capitals, Hakanpaa, Määttä, Kesselring
The Washington Capitals will have a mess to sort out on defense with Jakob Chychrun (upper-body) and Alexander Alexeyev (personal) each out day-to-day, per Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network. El-Bashir also shares that Matt Roy, who has been out since October 12th, is nearing a return but likely won’t play on Thursday.
Chychrun suffered his injury after just four shifts in Washington’s Tuesday night win over the New York Rangers. He was seen nursing his left ribs partway through his final shift, though it’s hard to place exactly when he suffered his injury.
Alexeyev and Roy would stand as the de facto options to fill Chychrun’s top-pair role. But with both also potentially missing Thursday night’s game, the Capitals will have to instead turn towards Rasmus Sandin or Martin Fehervary to fill their role of top left-defender. The team could also turn to the minor leagues for a fill-in, where Hardy Haman-Aktell stands as the top left-defense with three assists in six games to start the year.
Other notes from blue-lines around the league:
- Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa is nearing his debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending the start of the season on IR with a knee injury, shares David Alter of The Hockey News. Hakanpaa opened the year on long-term injured reserve, nursing an injury that ended his 2023-24 campaign in March. He proceeded to go through contract cartwheels with Toronto throughout the summer, signing with the team in July but not finalizing the deal until September. He joined Toronto’s practices on October 2nd, and even traveled with the team on their recent two-game road trip – all suggesting a return is imminent. Hakanpaa is awaiting clearance from Toronto’s doctors and activation off of LTIR, but figures to support the team’s defensive depth when he returns.
- The Utah Hockey Club could plan to ice seven defensemen on Wednesday – per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports – with Michael Kesselring returning from illness (link) and Olli Määttä quickly joining the team after trade (link). Kesselring has so far played in all 10 of Utah’s games, and ranks second on the blue-line in scoring with five points. Meanwhile, Maatta has yet to change his stat line at all this season – recording no scoring, no penalties, and no lasting change in +/- through seven games with the Detroit Red Wings. He was flipped to Utah for a 2025 third-round pick, and offers much-needed depth to a Utah club without both Sean Durzi and John Marino for the long-term. Kesselring should maintain his spot on the team’s top pair, while Maatta will join Vladislav Kolyachonok and Maveric Lamoureux in fighting for depth ice time.
Capitals Recall Michael Sgarbossa, Place Matt Roy On IR
The Capitals have recalled veteran center Michael Sgarbossa from AHL Hershey, per general manager Chris Patrick. Defenseman Matt Roy, absent since the season opener after sustaining a lower-body injury, was placed on injured reserve to open up a spot for Sgarbossa on the active roster.
The news doesn’t delay Roy’s return to the lineup – he’s been out for more than seven days so that he can come off IR at any time. In fact, the 29-year-old made a big step in his recovery today, as Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post relays he participated in practice wearing a non-contact jersey for the first time since exiting the lineup.
Signed to a six-year, $34.5MM deal in free agency, Roy logged a -2 rating and two shots on goal in 8:39 of ice time against the Devils back on Oct. 12. The Detroit native averaged 20:54 per game for the Kings last season, recording a career-high 20 assists with a +21 rating and 42 PIMs in 81 games. Washington brought in the 6’1″, 205-lb defender to serve as their No. 2 right-shot option behind John Carlson, replacing Nick Jensen, who the Caps traded to the Senators for Jakob Chychrun as part of a significant offseason remodel of their defense corps.
Meanwhile, Sgarbossa will likely draw in for Hendrix Lapierre, who has no points and a -5 rating in seven games this season, tomorrow against the Rangers, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Sgarbossa, 32, has been with the Caps since the 2018-19 season, usually serving as a top-six fixture in the minors for AHL Hershey. He’s been a productive regular-season player, posting 249 points in 269 games since arriving there six years ago. However, he has barely played in postseason action the past few years as Hershey has marched to back-to-back Calder Cup championships.
After not seeing NHL ice in 2022-23, Sgarbossa played 25 games for the Capitals last season, his most since splitting the 2016-17 season between the Ducks and Panthers. He scored four goals and added three assists for seven points, averaging 10:58 per game and winning 46% of his draws. He’s appeared in 42 NHL contests for Washington over the past six years and 90 NHL games in total, making his big-league debut with the Avalanche back in 2012-13. He’s also spent time under contract with the Jets and Sharks but never got into an NHL game for either club.
Sgarobssa is off to a hot start for Hershey this season, posting a goal and eight assists in his first seven games. He had seven goals and 43 points in 44 games for the AHL club last season. He’s in the back half of a two-year, two-way deal that pays him a hefty $525K minor-league salary and is ticketed for unrestricted free agency next summer.
Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Voronkov, Blake, Roy
Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson will not need surgery on his injured shoulder, GM Don Waddell confirmed to reporters including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, that shouldn’t be construed that it won’t be a long-term injury as originally reported. Instead, the team simply feels that the injury can be treated with rehab. This is the second straight year that the 22-year-old has dealt with injury troubles and he was off to a good start before sustaining it as he had five points in his first four games. He still technically hasn’t been moved to injured reserve at this time but that’s something that should happen in the coming days whenever they have to open up a roster spot.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- Still with Columbus, forward Dmitri Voronkov was a partial participant in practice today and appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a shoulder injury, reports Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch. The 24-year-old suffered the injury late in the preseason. Voronkov had a solid rookie season for the Blue Jackets in 2023-24, picking up 18 points and 16 assists and with the injuries they’re dealing with, getting him back a little earlier than expected would be some rare positive news on that front.
- The Hurricanes have once again sent winger Jackson Blake to AHL Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log. They’ve done this four times already this season in an effort to bank a bit more cap room. The 21-year-old has two goals in six games with Carolina so far so it’s safe to say he’ll be brought back up in time for puck drop against Seattle on Saturday.
- Capitals defenseman Matt Roy skated today before practice notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 29-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in Washington’s season opener and hasn’t played since. Roy was their most prominent free agent signing over the summer, inking a six-year, $34.5MM contract after putting up 25 points in nearly 21 minutes a night last season with Los Angeles. While he’s now back on the ice, he did not accompany the team on their road trip to Tampa Bay.
Capitals’ Matt Roy Out Day-To-Day
Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy missed the team’s Monday practice with a lower-body injury and has been designated as day-to-day shares Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post. Roy left the team’s Saturday game just a few minutes into the second period, though he didn’t seem limited in any way on his final shift. No further information about the injury has been revealed.
Roy recorded no scoring and a -2 in Washington’s season opener. The performance continued his scoreless stat-line from three preseason games, where Roy’s only recorded metrics were one blocked shot and four hits. Roy has struggled to bring his stout, defensive presence in his action with Washington, despite thriving in the role with Los Angeles for the last six seasons.
Roy was a true success story for the Kings, getting drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft and clawing his way up to the NHL lineup through two impactful seasons in the AHL. He made his NHL debut in the 2018-19 season and quickly continued his climb, stepping into the league on LA’s third-pairing but earning routine top-pair ice time as quickly as the 2020-21 season. By 2021-22, Roy was the de facto partner for Kings star Drew Doughty, averaging close to 21 minutes every game. His role was keenly focused on the defensive side of the puck, but Roy still managed a stout 21, 26, and 25 points through three seasons on the Kings’ top line.
Strong performances in Los Angeles earned Roy a hefty payday on July 1st when Washington signed him to a seven-year, $34.5MM contract. The deal carries Roy through his age-36 season and makes him a notable fixture of a Capitals blue-line that’s been completely refurbished. Roy was paired with Martin Fehervary on the second-pair for Washington’s season opener. Should he miss time, Roy will likely be replaced by a mix of Trevor van Riemsdyk and Dylan McIlrath. Van Riemsdyk saw the immediate boost from Roy’s injury, recording 19 minutes of ice time in the season opener – his heaviest utilization since December of 2023.
Morning Notes: Eriksson Ek, Roy, Aston-Reese
Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek didn’t travel with the team to Winnipeg for tonight’s game against the Jets after he suffered an apparent injury in last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken (as per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman). Eriksson Ek was left bloodied after a second-period hit from Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson caught him on the nose. Larsson’s elbow appeared to catch the 27-year-old up high, forcing him to leave the game for the remainder of the second period.
Eriksson Ek attempted to return to the game in the third period and took one shift while wearing a bubble shield on his helmet. He left after one shift and didn’t return or get on the team’s flight after the game. Minnesota head coach John Hynes did not provide a post-game update.
In other morning notes:
- Newly acquired Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy left the game last night during his Capitals debut (as per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News). The 29-year-old played his last shift about three minutes into the second period and didn’t appear to suffer any obvious injury. He ended the night playing just 8:39 and Washington announced he would not return near the end of the second period. Roy signed a six-year $34.5MM with the Capitals on July 1st and was expected to be a regular in the team’s top four. He missed just one game over the past two seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.
- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Zach Aston-Reese left last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche with an upper-body injury (as per Blue Jackets reporter Jeff Svoboda). The 30-year-old appeared to suffer the injury when he was hit up high during his first shift of the night. Aston-Reese was acquired off waivers last week from the Vegas Golden Knights and started the season on the Blue Jackets’ fourth line. The eight-year NHL veteran was hoping to secure an NHL role once again this season after spending almost all of last season in the AHL. Aston-Reese played just three games last year in the NHL with Detroit and remains a strong defensive forward, but brings very little in the way of offense. If he can’t play on Tuesday when Columbus takes on Florida, Dylan Gambrell will likely take his spot.
Capitals Sign Matt Roy, Taylor Raddysh
The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Matt Roy to a six-year, $33MM contract, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). The deal will carry an annual cap hit of $5.5MM. The Capitals have also signed depth forward Taylor Raddysh to a one-year, $1MM deal per PuckPedia (Twitter link).
Attempting to improve their finish from last season, the Capitals are making heavy investments in their defensive core. After acquiring left-handed defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators, Washington improved their right side with a long-term commitment to Roy. The two-day defenseman had spent the last six years with the Los Angeles Kings after being selected by the team in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft.
Behind Drew Doughty in Los Angeles, Roy became a significantly underrated defenseman. Over the last three years, Roy suited up in 230 games for the Kings while collecting 16 goals and 72 points overall and posting a combined +52 rating. Additionally — Roy averaged 1.72 hits per game and 1.96 blocked shots per game in those three years proving he is not shy about using his body to impact the play.
The only downside of Roy’s contract in Washington is that the team is now $4.88MM over the cap after factoring in the lost contract of Nicklas Backstrom. To trim up their cap situation, the team may look to move on from T.J. Oshie, Trevor van Riemsdyk, or Ethan Bear in the next couple of days.
Raddysh represents an investment in the team’s middle six, but he may end the 2024-25 season on the Hershey Bears. After a strong showing with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2022-23 regular season, Raddysh experienced a downfall last year as he only mustered five goals and 14 points in 73 games. He did show some strengths on the defensive side of the puck; however, which may have led the Capitals to give him a $1MM deal for next season.
Atlantic Notes: Swayman, Bruins, Roy, Bertuzzi, Xhekaj
With Linus Ullmark now in Ottawa, Jeremy Swayman is the Bruins’ undisputed goalie of the present and future moving forward. However, it doesn’t appear as if much progress has been made on a new deal, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link). Last summer, the two sides wound up going through salary arbitration with the netminder receiving a one-year, $3.475MM award. This past season, the 25-year-old posted a 2.52 GAA with a .916 SV% in 44 regular season games before putting forth a better showing in the playoffs, playing to a 2.15 GAA and a .933 SV% in a dozen postseason contests. It stands to reason that both sides would like to get a long-term agreement done; that type of deal should carry a price tag of at least $6MM.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Still with the Bruins, Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe suggests that they could be in position to land a pair of prominent Vancouver free agents when the market opens up on Monday, linking Boston to both center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Lindholm is coming off a down year but still managed 15 goals and 29 assists in 75 games. He’d give Boston a legitimate two-way middleman after they didn’t really replace Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci last summer. Zadorov, meanwhile, split the year between Calgary and Vancouver, notching 20 points and 177 hits in 75 games. However, he was quite impactful in the playoffs, recording four goals and four assists in 13 contests while logging over 20 minutes a game, putting himself in a spot to land a big raise on the $3.5MM he made in 2023-24 on a long-term agreement.
- The Senators are expected to make an aggressive pitch for pending UFA defenseman Matt Roy, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 29-year-old is positioned to be one of the top right-shot defenders to hit the open market on Monday and is coming off a strong year that saw him record 25 points, 197 blocks, and 152 hits in 81 games while averaging just under 21 minutes a night. After making $3.15MM the last three seasons, he could potentially come close to doubling that in free agency which would be very difficult for Ottawa to fit into their current salary structure.
- While the Maple Leafs were hoping to re-sign winger Tyler Bertuzzi, that won’t be the case according to TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link) who notes that the contract he’s expected to get is more than what Toronto can afford. The 29-year-old couldn’t get a multi-year deal at his asking price last summer, instead settling for a one-year, $5.5MM agreement with the Maple Leafs. Bertuzzi picked up 21 goals and 22 assists in 81 games during the regular season. That, coupled with his production in the past (three other years of at least 20 goals) has Dreger feeling that Bertuzzi will land a deal around four years at more than $5MM per season.
- Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj received a qualifying offer today but a new agent will be handling the discussions. Bartlett Hockey announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed Xhekaj along with his brother Florian Xhekaj as new clients. Arber played in 44 games in his sophomore year with Montreal, picking up 10 points, 125 hits, and 81 penalty minutes while averaging just under 16 minutes a night. He also played in 17 games with AHL Laval, recording 11 points. Florian, meanwhile, is a Canadiens prospect and will begin his entry-level agreement next season.
No Extension Talks Between Los Angeles Kings, Matt Roy
After defeating the New York Rangers in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, the Los Angeles Kings have had to re-establish their footing in the Western Conference, setting forth on a multi-year re-tool while still holding on to veterans Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. However, since the Kings’ Cup victory in 2014, even after the recent retooling of the roster, they have failed to make it beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Already going through a coaching change during the regular season, Los Angeles has some major decisions to make during the upcoming offseason, decisions that will influence the future success of the organization. One of those decisions will come on the blue line, as the Kings debate whether or not to retain the services of Matt Roy.
With their season coming to an end two weeks ago, there have reportedly been no extension talks between Los Angeles and Roy’s camp. However, Dennis Bernstein of TheFourthPeriod reports that the Kings organization is expecting extension talks to progress closer to June, a short time before Roy would have the opportunity to discuss a potential contract with the 31 other teams across the league.
Heading into the offseason, Los Angeles will have approximately $23.25MM of cap space to work with, but will notably need to address the contractual futures of up-and-coming talents Quinton Byfield and Jordan Spence with both become restricted free agents this summer. Beyond those two, the Kings are highly expected to make a splash in the goaltending market, which will take its chunk out of the available cap space.
Earning only $3.15MM a year on his current contract, Roy’s play over the last three years may have priced him out of Los Angeles’ lineup next season. Since the start of the 2021-22 NHL season, Roy has suited up in 230 regular season games for the Kings, scoring 16 goals and 72 points in total while averaging over 130 hits and 150 blocks a year in the process.
Snapshots: Canadiens, Danforth, Kings
The Canadiens were relatively quiet on trade deadline day with their only move coming late in the day when they moved Jake Allen to New Jersey. However, ESPN’s Kristen Shilton notes that Montreal did have interest in wingers Tanner Pearson and Joel Armia but not to the point where GM Kent Hughes was compelled to make a move. The Canadiens only had one available retention slot which was used on Allen which likely limited the market for Pearson, a pending unrestricted free agent. Meanwhile, Armia has rebounded relatively well after clearing waivers at the beginning of the season and has 11 goals in 48 games so far. However, he also has another season left at $3.4MM so teams likely would have been asking Montreal to retain salary or take back another contract to help facilitate a deal.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth is dealing with a concussion and will be out longer than day-to-day, team reporter Jeff Svoboda relays (Twitter link). The 30-year-old missed Saturday’s game against Nashville with what was called an illness at the time. Danforth is in the middle of a career year, notching 10 goals and 11 assists through 63 games so far. Danforth inked a one-year, $1.1MM contract extension back in October meaning he won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until the 2025 offseason.
- Kings GM Rob Blake recently told reporters including Andrew Knoll of the Los Angeles Daily News that there haven’t been any discussions about a contract extension with pending unrestricted free agents Viktor Arvidsson and Matt Roy. Arvidsson has been limited to just four games this season due to injuries so the hesitance there certainly makes sense. However, Roy has been a key cog on the back end for Los Angeles for several years now so it stands to reason that they’d like to keep him around even with him almost certainly eyeing a sizable raise from his current $3.15MM AAV. However, it appears those talks may have to wait until after the season.
Pacific Notes: Kings Updates, Comtois, Korczak
The Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein relays updates on a few key Los Angeles Kings players from Kings GM Rob Blake. Firstly, Blake said that veteran winger Viktor Arvidsson is questionable for tomorrow’s season-opening game due to a lower-body injury. Additionally, he added that conversations regarding a potential contract extension for both Arvidsson and fellow pending unrestricted free agent Matt Roy “could come around Christmas.”
Arvidsson, 30, has had a career renaissance in Los Angeles, scoring 26 goals and 59 points last season. Those numbers aren’t far off from the career highs he set with the Nashville Predators, and as a result he could be in line for a lucrative trip to the open market next summer. The impact of Roy, 28, isn’t as easy to point to as Arvidsson’s but he’s an important King all the same. The 2015 seventh-round pick played nearly 19 minutes per night last season and over two minutes per night short-handed, and could command a raise over his current $3.15MM AAV cap hit.
Some other notes from the Pacific division:
- Per The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy has confirmed that forward Maxime Comtois has been released from his PTO. Cassidy explained that the team was pleased with how Pavel Dorofeyev and Paul Cotter performed in the preseason, and as a result, did not have a spot to spare for Comtois. Comtois played in four preseason games and averaged just over 13 minutes of ice time per night. The former Anaheim Duck went scoreless in those contests and will now have to look elsewhere to continue his professional career, a career that looked so promising just two seasons ago when he scored 16 goals and 33 points in just 55 games.
- According to CapFriendly, the Golden Knights “appear to have recalled Kaedan Korczak” from the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, giving the team a full 23-man roster. This move, according to CapFriendly, would “suggest another LTIR placement” to create the necessary cap space, with the likely candidates for the placement being Zach Whitecloud or Alec Martinez. Both Whitecloud and Martinez are currently on regular injured reserve, and if one is expected to be absent for a relatively extended period that player could land on LTIR in order to allow for the recall of Korczak.