Western Notes: Brodie, Faulk, Grubauer, Prout
Doctors are still trying to find the cause for Calgary Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie‘s collapse during practice Thursday at the Saddledome, and while there still is no answer, according to Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson, many of the worst-case scenarios have already been ruled out.
“All tests that have been done to date have come back negative,” said Calgary general manager Brad Treliving. “We’re not going to leave any stone unturned in terms of the tests we go through, and there is no set timetable for TJ’s return. We’ll just go through the process and check every box and make sure we administer every test. But there is good news in that he has come through everything thus far and is doing well, feeling good and is on the mend.”
He will remain out for the time being until the team has a better understanding on why he collapsed.
- In his most recent mailbag, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) suggests that it’s far too early to look at the disappointing numbers of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk and suggest his acquisition was a mistake. Rutherford admits that his numbers are down from his numbers when he played for the Carolina Hurricanes, however he needs time to adjust to new teammates and a Craig Berube‘s new system. “He’s been fine,” Berube said Thursday. “It takes time for a guy that’s been one place his whole career and he’s moved. It’s not going to happen overnight. We’ve got to be patient and I think we have been patient. He’s played pretty well, though. He doesn’t have a goal, but he’s been shooting the puck. One or two will go in and that will change things.”
- With two minor league goaltenders on their roster, The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark reports that goaltender Philipp Grubauer is progressing by the day. Grubauer practiced once again, but the scribe reports that this was the first practice that saw him play at full strength. Head coach Jared Bednar also noted that backup Pavel Francouz remains in concussion protocol, although the goalie claims he’s feeling better. Clark also adds that forward Tyson Jost remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
- Despite returning and appearing in two games with the San Jose Sharks, the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports that defenseman Dalton Prout is out again with an upper-body injury and no timeline has been set for when he might return. Prout appeared in two games, going scoreless, but adding seven penalty minutes, while adding a much needed veteran presence at the bottom of their defensive lineup.
Injury Updates: Johansson, Zadorov, Francouz, Caggiula
Getting consistent secondary scoring has been a concern for the Sabres as of late and they’ll be without one of the few players who had been providing it for a little bit. Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports that forward Marcus Johansson will miss at least the next three games due to an upper-body injury. The 29-year-old currently sits tied for fifth in teams scoring with 10 points through his first 17 games, his highest point-per-game pace since 2016-17. Head coach Ralph Krueger indicated that it’s a minor issue for Johansson and that he could return as soon as Tuesday night. Considering they’ve been off since Saturday, Buffalo could backdate an IR placement for Johansson if they decide to recall someone from AHL Rochester.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- It was only last week that Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov was believed to be out week-to-week due to a broken jaw. However, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters, including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (Twitter link), that the blueliner will join up with the team as their road trip continues in Vancouver and that he could be available on Saturday night. That would be a nice boost for a team that has recently been ravaged by injuries and finds themselves down both of their regular goalies for the time being although Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater relays (via Twitter) that Pavel Francouz is currently in concussion protocol but might only miss another day or two.
- Blackhawks winger Drake Caggiula is in concussion protocol, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. The team initially believed he was sick but that certainly doesn’t appear to be the case now. This is Caggiula’s second concussion of 2019 as he also missed 13 games to one he sustained back in February. There is no timetable for his return.