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Ridly Greig

Ottawa Senators Dealing With Multiple Injuries

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The Ottawa Senators may have won a high-scoring contest against the Los Angeles Kings earlier in the afternoon, but they will not come away unscathed. During the game, it had already been reported that defenseman Artem Zub would not return to action, and the team is still waiting for more tests with him. To add insult to injury, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reported that forward Ridly Greig is expected to miss a week or two with an upper-body injury and a follow-up report indicated goaltender Linus Ullmark would miss a few days due to a strain.

Unfortunately for the Senators the team has a relatively quick turnaround before their next game which comes Thursday against the red-hot New Jersey Devils. The team should announce as quickly as tomorrow whether or not Ullmark and Zub will be available for that contest.

Ottawa has already recalled goaltender Mads Sogaard on an emergency basis to fill in for the injured Ullmark who wasn’t available for today’s contest against the Kings. They utilized depth forward Adam Gaudette in today’s game to fill in for Greig but the team is likely to make a recall in the next few days with Greig potentially out until the end of October.

Greig’s absence shouldn’t put too much strain on the lineup early in the season with the organization opting to shorten his ice time out of the gates compared to last season. Greig managed 13 goals and 26 points in 72 games for the Senators last season while averaging 14:45 of ice time per night but only averaged 14:03 against the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens while centering the team’s fourth line.

Gaudette appears to be the best option to center the team’s fourth line moving forward with likely call-ups Matthew Highmore, Jan Jenik, and Angus Crookshank typically deployed on the wing throughout their careers. Still, Ottawa now has only 12 healthy forwards on the roster and will likely require an additional option up front especially when they leave for a three-game western road trip next week.

Arguably the most crucial point of the injury report is that Ullmark is not expected to be out long-term. Head coach Travis Green couldn’t confirm if Ullmark would be in the net on Thursday against the Devils but indicated the team’s game on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning should be a reasonable return date.

Snapshots: Greig, Blake, Dunn, Kolosov

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Senators center Ridly Greig is dealing with an upper-body injury, relays Sportsnet’s Alex Adams (Twitter link).  The 22-year-old locked down a regular spot in Ottawa’s lineup for most of last season, notching 13 goals and 13 assists in 72 games while logging nearly 15 minutes a night.  Greig has been on the wing to start the year and missed a couple of shifts in Saturday’s game against Montreal, presumably due to the injury.  He might not be out for long, however, as head coach Travis Green noted that Greig could still suit up on Monday against Los Angeles.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Hurricanes quietly papered winger Jackson Blake down to AHL Chicago on Saturday. However, his time there was short-lived as he has already been recalled, per the AHL’s transactions log.  The move simply allowed them to bank a few thousand dollars in cap space with Carolina’s game against Tampa Bay postponed yesterday.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Hurricanes do this with some regularity with Blake, their lone waiver-exempt player, to try to open up a bit more spending flexibility.
  • Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, relays team broadcaster Piper Shaw (Twitter link). He played into the final minute of Saturday’s game but the issue was enough to keep him out of tonight’s contest against Dallas.  The 27-year-old has two points in his first two games this season after putting up 46 in 59 appearances in 2023-24.
  • Late last month, Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov ended his stalemate with the team, reporting to training camp after an agreement was reached that could allow for a potential return later on. That potential return might come sooner than later, however, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this week in his 32 Thoughts column that Philadelphia only has until the end of the month to convince him about their plans for him.  Kolosov made it known over the summer that he wants to play in the KHL this season if he was going to be in the minors.  While he’s with the Phantoms for now, he might not be there for too much longer based on Friedman’s report.

Atlantic Notes: Canadiens-Senators, Guhle, Red Wings

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No supplemental discipline is expected after a flurry of controversial hits and injuries in last night’s Canadiens-Senators preseason tilt, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Engels.

The fireworks started late in the first period when Ottawa forward Ridly Greig elevated his arms to lay a blindside hit on Montreal center Kirby Dach, receiving an interference minor and briefly knocking him out of the game. Dach would return, but that didn’t stop Habs defender Arber Xhekaj from charging Sens star Tim Stützle with a similar hit midway through the second period, earning himself an interference major and a game misconduct. He also received matching minors with Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk after the play. Neither Stützle nor Tkachuk returned to the contest with upper-body injuries, per the team.

Dach and Greig brawled during the third after the former returned to the game. Both players received fighting majors and 10-minute misconducts. Dach also received an extra minor for interference on the play. The Xhekaj hit on Stützle was likely most prone to a potential suspension. Still, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety believes the game misconduct assessed on the play was appropriate on its own.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Staying with Montreal, defenseman Kaiden Guhle is skating in a regular jersey at Wednesday’s practice, per Engels. It’s the first time he’s done so since having his appendix removed at the beginning of training camp. The 2020 16th overall pick signed a six-year, $33.3MM extension to remain a Canadien for the long haul in July, but he’ll still play out this season under the final year of his entry-level contract. The Edmonton native has quickly established himself as a top-four defender, averaging 20:51 per game last season and adding 22 points (6 G, 16 A) with a -8 rating in 70 contests.
  • Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde is “very impressed” with how forward prospects Nate Danielson, Marco Kasper, and Carter Mazur have performed in training camp, he told The Athletic’s Max Bultman. “They’ve kind of played into my optimistic vision of them,” he added. “I like all three. I think I’ve stated that quite a bit over the last year, year and a half, and they’ve done nothing to disappoint.” The trio are still long shots to make the opening night roster with some crowded roster math working against them, but it’s clear they’ll be at the top of the list for in-season call-ups and should each get at least a few NHL reps this year.

Hockey Canada Releases 2024 World Championship Roster

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May 7: Celebrini and Fantilli have returned home from Czechia, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. The former will participate in tonight’s 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, while Fantilli’s reasons for departing are undisclosed. It’s unclear whether they’ve been removed from the roster entirely. In a corresponding transaction, the team added Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois and Lightning forwards Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul to the roster.

May 3: Hockey Canada has released its roster of 22 players who will wear the maple leaf at the 2024 World Championship, which begins next week in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia. There are three open spots left to be filled throughout the tournament as more teams are eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Much like the initial World Championship roster that USA Hockey released weeks back, it’s almost completely made up of NHL talent – a rarity for the top-level countries at this tournament recently. The return and promise of future best-on-best international tournaments in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics has players and front offices looking at this year’s Worlds as a tune-up and initial evaluation for those events.

In fact, the only non-NHL player on Canada’s tournament-opening roster will be in the league next season. That’s presumptive 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who continues his 2023-24 campaign after taking home the Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player in his freshman season with Boston University. Their offense is highlighted and led by Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard and Kraken sniper Jared McCann, while Sabres defenders Bowen Byram and Owen Power highlight the back end. Blues netminder Jordan Binnington is expected to serve as the team’s starter.

The full roster is as follows:

F Connor Bedard (Blackhawks)
F Michael Bunting (Penguins)
F Macklin Celebrini (2024 draft-eligible)
F Dylan Cozens (Sabres)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Ridly Greig (Senators)
F Dylan Guenther (NHL Utah)
F Andrew Mangiapane (Flames)
F Jack McBain (NHL Utah)
F Jared McCann (Kraken)
F Dawson Mercer (Devils)
F Brandon Tanev (Kraken)

D Bowen Byram (Sabres)
D Kaiden Guhle (Canadiens)
D Jamie Oleksiak (Kraken)
D Colton Parayko (Blues)
D Owen Power (Sabres)
D Damon Severson (Blue Jackets)
D Olen Zellweger (Ducks)

G Jordan Binnington (Blues)
G Nico Daws (Devils)
G Joel Hofer (Blues)

Snapshots: Sabres, Avalanche, Blue Jackets Injuries, Rielly

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While the Sabres sit a dozen points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, it doesn’t seem as if they’re ready to give up on this season just yet.  In his Saturday Headlines segment on Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported (video link) that Buffalo is looking to add win-now pieces.  One thing they have that many buyers won’t is cap space as CapFriendly pegs them at having over $22MM in cap room today, a number that balloons to over $36MM on trade deadline day.  Accordingly, they have the ability to add some pieces to try to overcome this sizable deficit with 31 games left in their season.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Avalanche lead the NHL in goals scored with 196, an average of 3.7 per game. Despite that, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post suggests that adding more scoring might be a good way for them to go at the trade deadline.  With the status of Valeri Nichushkin moving forward in doubt while he’s in the Player Assistance Program and the fact that the bulk of their scoring is coming from two lines, adding someone to help deepen their attack could certainly be beneficial when the checking tightens up in the playoffs.  However, cap space is quite limited and if they do opt to go that route, it could prevent them from shoring up their backup goalie spot as well.
  • The upper-body injury that Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov sustained last night will cause him to miss at least Tuesday’s game versus Ottawa, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). If Columbus wants to call up a replacement forward, they’ll need to open up a roster spot first which could be done by shifting Adam Fantilli to injured reserve.  Meanwhile, Portzline adds that defenseman Nick Blankenburg is dealing with a concussion, the second one he has sustained this season.  The 25-year-old has been shuffled back and forth between Columbus and AHL Cleveland this year but it appears he’ll be staying in the minors for a little while until he’s cleared to return.
  • In a follow-up announcement to their offer of an in-person hearing to Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly for his cross-check on Ridly Greig on Saturday, the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link) that Rielly accepted the offer and that the hearing will be held on Tuesday afternoon in New York. Considering Toronto plays on Tuesday night, a decision on the length of his suspension will need to be made fairly quickly after the hearing.

Morgan Rielly Offered In-Person Hearing For Cross-Checking

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The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has offered Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly an in-person hearing for cross-checking Senators center Ridly Greig in the closing seconds of Saturday’s game, per an announcement Sunday. With an in-person hearing, DoPS now has the option to issue Rielly a suspension in excess of five games.

The play in question occurred with seconds remaining in the contest after Greig scored an empty-net goal via a slap shot, increasing Ottawa’s lead to 5-3. During his celebration, Rielly approached Greig and cross-checked him in the face, causing him to fall to the ice. Rielly was assessed a match penalty on the play.

Rielly, 30 next month, had five points in his last four games before facing a potential long-term absence. He has never been fined nor suspended in his 11-year, 769-game career. Toronto’s longest-tenured player is second on the team in assists (36) and fourth in points (43) through 50 games and is logging a career-high 24:21 per game.

Any long-term absence for Rielly puts serious strain on the Maple Leafs’ defense at a critical point in the season as they jockey for playoff positioning. The team’s only true depth puck-moving option not currently in the lineup, right-shot defenseman Conor Timmins, has played just 16 games this season and is currently sidelined with an illness. If neither Timmins nor the currently-injured Mark Giordano can play Tuesday against the Blues with Rielly out, Maxime Lajoie would draw into the lineup, and Timothy Liljegren would likely become the team’s top power play option.

 

Snapshots: Senators Trade Rumors, Arber Xhekaj, Ridly Greig

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The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch recently shared that teams have been reaching out to the Senators to see if top forward Drake Batherson is available. However, Garrioch reports that Ottawa isn’t looking for a large-scale trade, and is instead shopping around winger Dominik Kubalik. This could be in an effort to make space for Shane Pinto, who is currently serving a 41-game suspension after violating the league’s sports wagering rules.

Kubalik is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and carries a $2MM cap hit this season. The 28-year-old has managed four goals and five points through 19 games this season, also adding six penalty minutes and a -10. Kubalik previously scored 30 goals and 46 points in the 2019-20 season, his rookie year in the NHL. His scoring took a step back following the exciting rookie year, but he managed 20 goals and 45 points in 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season.

And while those are certainly fine numbers for a cheap, depth forward, it’s easy to see why Batherson is the one teams are interested in. The 25-year-old winger currently has 14 points, split evenly, through 19 games this season. He’s coming off of a career-year that saw him record 22 goals and 62 points in 82 games last season. The breakout year was apart of a steady climb in scoring, with Batherson recording 34 points in 2020-21 and 44 points in only 46 games during the 2021-22 season. The young forward is also cost-controlled through 2026-27, carrying a cap hit of $4.975MM in each of the next four seasons.

Other notes from around the league:

Senators Activate Thomas Chabot

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The Senators have officially removed defenseman Thomas Chabot from long-term injured reserve, per CapFriendly. Chabot can now officially return to the lineup Friday against the Blue Jackets, where he’s expected to comprise the team’s second defense pairing alongside Artem Zub.

Tomorrow will mark Chabot’s first appearance since October 26, when he sustained a right-hand fracture in a game against the Islanders. The team immediately announced he would miss four to six weeks and placed him on LTIR, freeing up precious salary cap space for a team that had to open the season short a skater due to cap constraints. Just a few days into his projected return window, Chabot is ready to go.

His recovery has forced some cap gymnastics, as CapFriendly notes. Forwards Ridly Greig and Mark Kastelic, who have been out of the lineup since early this month, were both retroactively placed on LTIR to free up cap space. Given that LTIR requires a player to miss at least ten games and 28 days due to an injury, Greig and Kastelic will miss at least two more games with their lower-body injuries. They remain listed as week-to-week and will be eligible to return on December 5 against the Rangers.

Even under LTIR, the Senators now have only $148K in available cap space with an active roster of 21 players.

Outside of the financials, this news is quite pertinent for a Senators team looking to dig itself out of last place in the Atlantic Division and get back into the playoff conversation by New Year’s Day. Injuries have limited Chabot over the past few seasons – he’s missed roughly 25% of Ottawa’s games dating back to the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. When in the lineup, though, he remains an extremely valuable piece of the Senators’ puzzle. He routinely averages the most ice time of nearly any defender in the league, staying over the 24-minute mark for six straight seasons. He has a long history of positive relative possession numbers, too, and has produced at a 0.64 points-per-game clip since transitioning into a top-pairing role in 2018.

Before sustaining the fracture, Chabot had logged three assists and a -1 rating in seven appearances.

Atlantic Notes: Quinn, Greig, Kastelic, Walman

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Still working his way back from an Achilles tear suffered in late June of this past summer, Jack Quinn is making significant progress in returning from injury. There still is no firm timetable for his return, but Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports confirmed Quinn was practicing in full pads before the team’s practice today.

The recovery timeline for Achilles tears is anywhere between five and six months, meaning Quinn could reasonably return by next week, or even towards the end of the calendar year. Nevertheless, the fact that he is practicing is positive news for the Buffalo Sabres, who could certainly use his skill back in the everyday lineup.

In 75 games played last year, Quinn scored 14 goals and 23 assists, finishing eight on the team in scoring, and 12th in Calder Trophy voting. Quinn likely could have scored quite a bit more last season, but he was limited in his usage by head coach Don Granato, only averaging around 14 minutes of ice time per game.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The Ottawa Senators could be getting some reinforcements back into their forward core, as Bruce Garrioch of TSN reports Ridly Greig and Mark Kastelic were seen practicing today on their own. Both players have been on the injured reserve since November 2nd, and both have been considered week-to-week. Of the two, Greig has been one of the most impressive young forwards on the team, scoring two goals and five assists in nine games.
  • In the Detroit Red Wings loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their second game of the Global Series in Sweden, defenseman Jake Walman would leave the game with an injury, and his status was unknown up until now. Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside reports that Detroit plans on using seven defensemen tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils, meaning Walman will not miss any time due to the injury.

Injury Notes: Liljegren, Chytil, Senators

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have tweeted that defenseman Timothy Liljegren has left tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins and won’t be returning. It is the second time in less than a week that the 24-year-old has had to leave a game with an injury as he was forced to exit a game last week against the Nashville Predators with what was described as an upper body injury.

Liljegren’s injury tonight is being called a lower body injury, but it appears likely it is something in his foot or ankle. The injury happened in the dying moments of the first period as Liljegren and forward Brad Marchand of the Bruins were skating towards the corner and engaging in a puck battle. Marchand appears to give Liljegren the can opener before the Maple Leafs defenseman goes awkwardly into the boards. The move from Marchand was essentially a trip as he appeared to put his stick between Liljegren’s legs and force him to the ice. Liljegren’s skates then smashed into the end boards, likely causing his injury.

In other injury notes:

  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil is done for tonight’s game after colliding with Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast in the first period of the matchup this evening. Chytil left with what is being described as an upper-body injury and was last seen on the Rangers bench in obvious pain before leaving the game. The 24-year-old center has six assists in nine games this season and has been working primarily as the team’s second-line center. Should he be out for any period it is likely that Vincent Trocheck was moved up to the second line in his absence.
  • The Ottawa Senators have tweeted that young forward Ridly Greig left tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Kings with a lower-body injury and did not return. The news was similar for Greig’s teammate Mark Kastelic who also suffered a lower-body injury and was unable to get back onto the ice. Senators coach D.J. Smith offered an update on both players that was covered by Murray Pam of Full Press Hockey. Smith said that he figures both Greig and Kastelic will miss a few games due to their ailments. Greig has been filling in admirably for the suspended Shane Pinto and has registered two goals and five assists in eight games while Kastelic has no points and 21 PIM in eight games this year. Given the Senators’ predicament, it does seem likely that the team will have to recall some players from the Belleville Senators of the AHL.

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