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Patrick Kane

Atlantic Notes: Mittelstadt, Kane, Sanderson

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In an article this morning from Lyle Richardson of Spector’s Hockey, he mentions that the Buffalo Sabres are actively shopping forward Casey Mittelstadt in hopes of bringing a top-tier goaltender into the organization. Currently leading the Sabres in points with 42, Mittelstadt is set to become a restricted free agent at season’s end, likely hoping to get a long-term deal in Buffalo similar to Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson.

To put some cold water on the report, shortly after Richardson’s article was published in Spector’s Hockey, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News quickly downplayed the reports, citing that the Sabres are more than comfortable moving forward with a tandem of Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. In Lysowski’s defence, Luukkonen has been rather remarkable over his last 10 games, putting together a 6-4-0 record since December 30th all while averaging a .940 SV%.

Ultimately, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle regarding the future of Mittelstadt in Buffalo. Not meeting preseason expectations, General Manager Kevyn Adams is likely doing his due diligence in preparation for deadline season, as any General Manager would do in a similar situation to the Sabres.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • After missing the team’s last seven contests, Patrick Kane will return to the lineup tonight for the Detroit Red Wings as the team announced they have activated the veteran forward off of injured reserve. Although producing a solid 4-2-1 record in his absence, the Red Wings have only averaged three goals per game over that stretch, nearly a half-goal drop from their average over the entire regular season. With this recent injury being the only health concern for Kane since his return to the NHL, he has scored seven goals and 16 points in 19 games for Detroit since recovering from offseason hip resurfacing surgery.
  • Having confirmed that Jake Sanderson will be out of the lineup for the team’s game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bruce Garrioch of TSN is reporting that the Ottawa Senators are hoping Sanderson can return to skating next week. Without having a clear timeline for his return when originally injured, this update from Garrioch at the very least provides some idea as to when Sanderson could return to the lineup for the Senators. After a strong rookie campaign last year, Sanderson has continued to improve this season, scoring seven goals and 24 points through 47 games this year.

Injury Notes: Kane, Perunovich, Kapanen

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Heading into the team’s game tomorrow night against the Ottawa Senators, there was some hope from the Detroit Red Wings that forward Patrick Kane could be healthy enough to return, after missing the team’s last six games with a lower-body injury. Nevertheless, Ansar Khan of MLive reports that Kane will not be in the lineup tomorrow night for Detroit, and the team will allow him to rest and recover over the upcoming All-Star break.

With Kane making a strong comeback after offseason hip resurfacing surgery, the saving grace to this injury is that all signs are pointing to it being unrelated to his hip. However, with Kane making such an unexpectedly impressive return from resurfacing surgery, having to deal with a separate issue could likely lead to some frustration for the veteran forward.

Even though he has become one of the better forwards in the lineup, the Red Wings have faired well in his absence, producing a 4-2-0 record and picking up important victories against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Once he does return after the All-Star break, Kane will look to improve on his 16-point total and reinforce Detroit’s current momentum.

Other injury notes:

  • Suffering a lower-body injury in the team’s most recent game against the Los Angeles Kings, Lou Korac of The Hockey News reports that St.Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich was seen wearing a boot on his left foot this morning, and would be out through the All-Star break. Thankfully, the injury does not sound as serious as expected, meaning that Perunovich should be able to return shortly thereafter. On the season, Perunovich has suited up in 31 games for the Blues, tallying 12 assists while averaging about 14 and a half minutes a night.
  • Sticking in St.Louis, although it has already been confirmed that forward Kasperi Kapanen will be out through the All-Star break, Lou Korac reports that he was back at practice this morning for the team. Residing on the team’s injured reserve for the last two weeks, Kapanen was on a much slower pace compared to last season before the injury, only scoring four goals and 13 points through 42 games.

Evening Notes: Pettersson, Kane, Canucks

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Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that Ottawa Senators prospect Oskar Pettersson will join the team’s AHL affiliate in Belleville and make his debut with the team this weekend. Pettersson was selected 72nd overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft and will be joining a team in North America for the first time in his short career. Pettersson had been on loan from the Senators to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League where he posted a single assist in 26 games.

Pettersson may have struggled offensively this season, but he has been a strong offensive contributor with Rögle BK J20 over the past three seasons registering 74 points in 74 games. The 19-year-old has shown that he can be a strong player along the boards and can play with the puck in traffic, both skills that should him thrive in the North American game.

Pettersson will likely debut on Friday against the Syracuse Crunch.

In other evening notes:

  • Detroit Red Wings reporter Daniella Bruce tweeted that winger Patrick Kane could suit up on Wednesday if he is 100%. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters that the team would know more tomorrow after practice but that the 35-year-old is very close to a return. Kane has been very effective this season in just 19 games with seven goals and nine assists, however, the team is inexplicably just 8-9-2 with him in the lineup and 18-9-3 without him.
  • Elliotte Friedman appeared on Donnie and Dhali today and said that the Canucks remain in pursuit of a top-six forward with Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindholm at the top of their list of potential targets. The Canucks are said to be looking at forwards who can play multiple positions up front and may need to outbid other teams to facilitate a trade with Calgary. The Flames and Canucks may be bitter rivals, but they have made one trade already this season with the Canucks acquiring defenseman Nikita Zadorov in exchange for two draft picks.

Injury Updates: Jarnkrok, Islanders, Red Wings, Amadio

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The Maple Leafs will be without Calle Jarnkrok for the foreseeable future as David Alter of The Hockey News mentions that the winger will be out week-to-week with a fractured knuckle.  The injury was sustained in practice on Friday.  Jarnkrok has been a valuable and versatile middle-six player this season, playing in a variety of roles while chipping in with ten goals and nine assists through 46 games.  Tyler Bertuzzi returns to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game due to the birth of his child while Ryan Reaves will play his first game in six weeks, replacing the injured Bobby McMann.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). He took an elbow to the head from Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher on Thursday, a hit that landed Gallagher a five-game suspension.  Injuries have limited the 29-year-old to just 29 of 48 games this season, where he has four assists and 42 blocked shots while logging over 19 minutes a night.  Gross adds that winger Hudson Fasching is also listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury.   The 28-year-old also left Thursday’s game early after less than three minutes of ice time.  After collecting 19 points in 49 games last season, Fasching hasn’t been able to put up similar numbers so far, notching just three goals and five helpers in 35 games.
  • Ben Chiarot’s upper-body injury will hold him out of Detroit’s lineup through the All-Star break, notes 97.1 The Ticket’s Daniella Bruce (Twitter link). The 32-year-old has missed the last week with an upper-body injury.  He’s in his second season with the Red Wings and has a dozen points in 45 games so far along with 93 blocks and 84 hits.  Meanwhile, Bruce adds that winger Patrick Kane could still suit up before the break against Ottawa on Wednesday.  Kane has missed the last two weeks with a lower-body injury and has been a nice addition to Detroit’s lineup, collecting 16 points in his first 19 games.
  • Speaking with reporters postgame on Friday including NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated that winger Michael Amadio has been cleared to return tonight against Detroit. The 27-year-old has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury.  Amadio has been one of the better waiver claims in recent years, becoming a capable depth producer for Vegas, notching 33 goals in 162 games; he has 17 points in 42 games so far this season.

Red Wings Notes: Kane, Chiarot, Rafferty, Compher

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Red Wings forward Patrick Kane was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports. It’s his first time joining the team at practice since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Maple Leafs on Jan. 14, nearly a week and a half ago.

Per St. James, the Red Wings hope Kane can return to action in one of their three games before the All-Star break but are still unsure of an exact return timeline. The 35-year-old has been out with a lower-body injury – a concerning designation given his recent hip surgery – but the two don’t appear to be related. Since signing his one-year, $2.75MM deal with Detroit, Kane has assumed a top-six role and posted seven goals and 16 points in 19 games, much closer to the level of production expected from the future Hall-of-Famer at this stage in his career. The Red Wings, who have a slim lead on the Devils for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, are 8-9-2 with a -9 goal differential in Kane’s 19 appearances this season.

Elsewhere from the Red Wings today:

  • St. James also relays that defenseman Ben Chiarot is not practicing today as he remains out with an upper-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day and has missed the last two games, most recently suiting up against the Hurricanes on Jan. 19. Chiarot, who’s rebounding somewhat after a ghastly defensive performance in his first campaign in Detroit, had averaged 19:31 per game and has 12 points in 45 contests. Given he isn’t yet ready to return to practice, he’ll likely miss tomorrow’s game against the Flyers. A day-to-day designation suggests he may return before the All-Star break, though.
  • The carousel continues for depth defenseman Brogan Rafferty, who the Red Wings returned to AHL Grand Rapids today, per a team release. The 28-year-old hasn’t played for Detroit this season despite being recalled three times in the past two weeks, only serving as insurance given their minor injuries on the blue line. This is Rafferty’s fourth transaction in the last four days, and with Chiarot likely out for tomorrow’s contest, the Red Wings will likely recall him again.
  • Also absent from practice today was center J.T. Compher, who head coach Derek Lalonde says is questionable for tomorrow against Philadelphia as he battles the flu. Compher has three points in his last three games after going pointless in six, bringing his total to 27 in 42 appearances during his first season in Detroit. His per-game pace is roughly the same as last year’s breakout performance with the Avalanche when he used his 52 points and 20:32 average time on ice to cash in with a five-year, $25.5MM commitment from the Red Wings in free agency.

Injury Notes: Blackhawks, Red Wings, Engvall

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The Chicago Blackhawks saw a string of players progress in their injury recovery, with Nick Foligno (fractured finger) and Ryan Donato (illness) fully returning to the team’s practice on Sunday, while Connor Bedard (jaw), Samuel Savoie (leg), and Tyler Johnson (undisclosed) were all on the ice for varying times before the team skate started. Connor Murphy was not able to take part in the team’s skate, though, continuing to miss time with a lower-body injury.

Donato has missed the Hawks’ last two games with an illness, while Foligno has sat out of seven games thanks to a placement on injured reserve earlier in the month. Both players are trending towards a return, finally bringing some form of relief to a Chicago lineup that’s currently experiencing injuries to 10 different players. Foligno went down on the same night that star rookie Bedard was injured. Both players falling out of the lineup effectively fractured Chicago’s top six, with the team going 3-4-0 – including one overtime and one shootout win – and scoring just 13 goals since the pair got hurt. That averages out to 1.85 goals-per-game – a mark that’s significantly held up by the two four-goal outings Chicago has had since Bedard’s injury.

Other notes from around the league:

Atlantic Notes: Stamkos, Monahan, Kane

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Before the start of the 2023-24 regular season, captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos, rather publicly voiced his frustration with the Lightning organization, primarily over the fact that the team had not yet approached him about a contract extension beyond this season. Although Stamkos had not found his name in any trade speculation up to this point, if Tampa Bay were to fall out of playoff contention by the trade deadline, it would be a reasonable conclusion given the events that took place over training camp.

However, even after succinctly explaining that the Lightning organization would wait until after this season to address the future of Stamkos with the organization, the General Manager of Tampa Bay, Julien BriseBois, states that the team has no interest in moving Stamkos in a trade. This morning, Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that the Lightning would not be moving Stamkos for any reason and that the team envisions Stamkos in Tampa Bay beyond this season.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Lightning to retain Stamkos, as it is more than likely he will earn a decrease to his current $8.5MM salary. However, if Tampa Bay believes they are due for a transitionary period as an organization, they may view the available cap space as more prudent than bringing back their long-time captain on another contract.

Other notes:

  • One player who has found himself in trade speculation for yet another season is a veteran forward for the Montreal Canadiens, Sean Monahan. However, the General Manager of the Canadiens, Kent Hughes, still believes everything is on the table in regards to Monahan’s future with the club, and the team may even opt to extend him rather than trade him (X Link). Playing on a one-year, $1.985MM contract for Montreal, Monahan has returned nicely from an injury-riddled 2022-23 season, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 43 games for the Canadiens this year.
  • After leaving the team’s game on Sunday night, Helene St.James of the Detroit Free Press reports that forward Patrick Kane will miss the next two games for the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury. Although the head coach of the team, Derek Lalonde, has assured the media that the organization is not concerned with it being related to Kane’s previous hip issues, there still will be some caution from Detroit moving forward.

Patrick Kane Will Not Return To Game Tonight

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In tonight’s Original Six matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, an injury took place in the first period that may change the trajectory of Detroit’s season. Early on in the period, the Red Wings announced that forward Patrick Kane would not return to the game due to a lower-body injury.

The injury in question took place over two moments, with Pontus Holmberg delivering a solid body check to Kane along the boards, and Holmberg once again guiding Kane into a collision with the net in the Red Wings’ defensive zone.

Obviously, with the nature of the collisions, and Kane’s past injury history, Detroit’s main concern will be with Kane’s hip. Infamously, this past summer, Kane became one of a handful of players to undergo hip resurfacing surgery, delaying his eventual return to the NHL until December 7th.

If Kane is set to miss time away with this injury, it would be a tremendous blow to a Red Wings team that had just recently rebounded from a slow stretch in December. After a 2-8-1 showing in Kane’s first 11 games with Detroit, the team holds a 5-1-1 record in their last seven contests.

Since signing a one-year contract with the Red Wings back on November 28th, Kane has scored seven goals and 16 points in 18 games, with four of those points coming on Detroit’s powerplay. Although sitting 20th on the team in games played, Kane has climbed up to 14th on the team in scoring.

In Detroit’s view, there will be a lot of hope coming from the organization that Kane does not miss any action beyond tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs. However, although Kane has silenced many doubters in his return from hip resurfacing surgery, the poor track record of the surgery in the NHL still looms large.

Snapshots: Kahkonen, Three Stars, Minten

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Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen is on an expiring contract, making him a candidate to be moved before the March 8th deadline.  The 27-year-old told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that he likes the direction that the team is heading in and would be open to re-signing with San Jose although he’s unaware of any discussions on that front at this point.  Kahkonen was traded two years ago when he was on an expiring deal, coming to the Sharks in a swap with Minnesota.  He has a .899 SV% in 15 games this season, a number that’s a little below league average but with the state of their roster and their struggles this season, that’s not a bad showing.  Accordingly, teams looking for help between the pipes might be inclined to inquire about Kahkonen in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • With the games for the week now over due to the holiday break, the NHL released its weekly Three Stars today. Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov was named First Star on the heels of recording seven points in four games including back-to-back overtime winners.  Rangers center Mika Zibanejad is the Second Star after also notching seven points in four contests.  Meanwhile, Red Wings winger Patrick Kane takes home the Third Star nod after leading the league in scoring with eight points in his four appearances.
  • Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten has been named captain of Canada’s World Junior team, per an announcement from Hockey Canada (Twitter link). The 19-year-old made his NHL debut this season, getting into a pair of games before being sent back to the WHL where he has since been traded.  Canada has four players with at least one game of NHL experience; all four of them are among the players who will be among their group of captains.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.

Who are the Red Wings thankful for?

Dylan Larkin.

Larkin had the opportunity to leave the Red Wings this past summer but opted to remain with the franchise signing a massive eight-year extension. Few people would’ve faulted the 27-year-old for bolting the only organization he’s ever known as his tenure in the Motor City hasn’t exactly been full of memorable moments. The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since Larkin’s rookie season back in 2015-16 and haven’t finished better than fifth in their division since that five-game ouster at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Larkin arrived in Detroit at a time when it seemed possible that the Red Wings could avoid a long rebuild and retool on the fly as they had a pile of emerging young talent to play alongside Larkin. However, many of Detroit’s top young players at the time failed to live up to expectations leading the Red Wings into a full-on rebuild that is in its eighth year.

Larkin has done his part through some very lean years in Detroit as he has led the team in scoring in five of the past seven seasons. As well as being their on-ice leader he has also become a leader in the dressing room when he was named their captain in January of 2021. Larkin has been a point-a-game player in each of the past three seasons and has done so without a ton of offensive help from his teammates.

Detroit should be thankful for Larkin, and thankful that the Waterford, Michigan native grew up in the metro Detroit area, which was probably a very big factor when it came to his decision to sign a long-term extension.

What are the Red Wings thankful for?

Scouting.

An argument can be made that perhaps the Red Wings scouting isn’t what it once was, but even if it is a fraction of what it used to be, that’s still better than most of the NHL. The Red Wings have historically been able to hit big on late-round draft picks and much of that credit belongs to Håkan Andersson who is the Director of European Scouting for Detroit. Andersson is largely responsible for the Red Wings drafting Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Tomas Tatar, Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, and Gustav Nyquist. While that list is impressive, even more impressive is that Detroit only drafted one of those players in the first round (Kronwall).

Unfortunately for Detroit’s scouting department, the NHL is very much a what have you done for me lately league and their drafting hasn’t been what it once was. That’s not to say they haven’t hit home runs. Tyler Bertuzzi was a late second-round pick, as was Filip Hronek, while Andreas Athanasiou was selected late in the fourth round. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, none of those players worked out in Detroit and they all find themselves in other uniforms.

At this moment, the Red Wings do have some emerging young forwards who could make an impact over the next few years. It will be interesting to re-evaluate the Red Wings scouting in five years to look back and see how they assessed their talent.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?

A Patrick Kane return to form.

If Patrick Kane can be anything close to what he was before double hip surgery, the Red Wings will be a real threat in the Eastern Conference. If he ends up like many of his peers who have undergone a hip resurfacing procedure, he might not be able to make much of an impact.

Those are obviously very different outcomes, and it could ultimately be the difference in the Red Wings season. Kane is just two years removed from posting 26 goals and 66 assists in 78 games and if he can bring some of that offense to Detroit’s lineup, along with the leadership that comes with winning three Stanley Cups, then he could push Detroit to be among the contenders in the East. But, if he can’t, Detroit may not be able to outscore some of the subpar goaltending they have received from Ville Husso.

It’s too early to tell how Kane will hold up under the grind of the regular season, but so far, he has looked strong with a goal in two games. Despite starting a huge percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone, Kane has been able to drive play, and get some good looks at both five-on-five and on the power play. As he gets into better game shape, he could become a difference-maker for the Red Wings and that would be something for Detroit fans to be even more thankful for.

What should be on the Red Wings holiday wish list?

A starting goaltender.

Ville Husso isn’t it for Detroit. The 28-year-old has started the majority of the Red Wings games this year and has not been good. In 14 games thus far, the native of Helsinki, Finland has gone 8-4-2 with a .886 save percentage and 3.65 goals against average. Those numbers will not do for a team that is desperate to get back into the playoffs and who has a good enough lineup to do so if they can get the goaltending.

What complicates matters is that backups James Reimer and Alex Lyon have outplayed Husso by a very wide margin. Reimer is 2-2-2 in six starts and has a .922 save percentage with a 2.18 goals-against average, while Lyon is 4-2-0 with a .931 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.13.

The wings are faced with several choices when it comes to their goaltending. They can ride it out with Husso and hope he finds his game while having Lyon and Reimer as backup options in case he falters. Or they can try and move Husso and his $4.75MM cap hit and then try and find another starting goaltender to replace him. Another option might be to add some additional depth, but with Lyon and Reimer already in the system it would become tricky to carry four goaltenders as one would have to be exposed to waivers. Carrying three goaltenders is already unusual, and if Detroit was to target a depth option, they would probably have to move one from one of their netminders.

Something that could work in Detroit’s favor is that they are one of the only contending teams that have a sizeable amount of cap space, meaning they could potentially acquire a goaltender and keep Husso if they wanted to, or move on from Husso and retain some of his cap hit in a trade.

If Husso does continue to struggle Detroit’s starting goalie job will be available, and it could become something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the trade deadline.

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