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Snapshots: Bedard, Vanecek, Jeannot

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The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly working with local doctors to see if Connor Bedard can make a surprise return to the lineup on Thursday night, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. This return would come well ahead of expectations, with head coach Luke Richardson previously stating his hope was for Bedard to return next week. To say Bedard’s return would be impactful is an understatement. The 18-year-old rookie phenom still leads the team in scoring despite missing their last 14 games. The Blackhawks have been abysmal in his absence, going 3-10-1. This includes a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1) that the Hawks currently find themselves on, with the team netting just eight goals over the stretch.

Adding back their top scorer, the most recent first-overall selection, and the highest-acclaimed prospect since Connor McDavid will bring a breath of fresh air to a desperate Chicago lineup. Bedard has 15 goals and 33 points in 39 games this season, on pace for 70 points in his rookie season. That would be the most a Chicago rookie has scored since Artemi Panarin managed 30 goals and 77 points in 80 games during the 2015-16 season.

Other notes from around the league:

New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek has recovered from an illness that held him out of Tuesday’s game. But head coach Lindy Ruff shares that he is now day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and will continue to be unavailable. Ruff shared that Vanecek will miss the next two games, including New Jersey’s Stadium Series matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. New Jersey is expected to turn towards Nico Daws in Vanecek’s absence.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tanner Jeannot has been designated as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, per team reporter Eduardo A. Encina with the Tampa Bay Times. Jeannot made his return on Tuesday from a lower-body injury that held him out of the team’s last 12 games. Encina adds that head coach Jon Cooper is hoping Jeannot’s new injury won’t be long-term as well. Jeannot has appeared in 42 games when healthy this season, scoring 12 points, split evenly.

Lightning Activate Tanner Jeannot From LTIR

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Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has confirmed that winger Tanner Jeannot will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Bruins via Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida. The NHL’s media portal reflects that Jeannot has been activated from long-term injured reserve.

The 26-year-old has not played since sustaining a lower-body injury on Jan. 6 in Boston. His absence concludes after five weeks and 12 games.

Jeannot will make his return in a fourth-line role alongside Mitchell Chaffee and Luke Glendening. Alex Barré-Boulet comes out of the lineup and will be a healthy scratch for the fourth time in six games.

The Saskatchewan native’s first full season in Tampa Bay after a trade from the Predators last year has been underwhelming given the five draft picks the Lightning surrendered for him, posting six goals and 12 points in 41 games with a -11 rating while averaging 12:36, nearly two minutes below his career average. He was pointless in eight straight games before his injury.

It’s seeming increasingly unlikely that Jeannot will recapture his 24-goal rookie form, especially if his ice time remains limited. On the bright side, his possession impacts this season have been strong. His line with Anthony Cirelli and Michael Eyssimont has a striking 80.4% expected goals share in over 50 minutes together, and his 50.8% Corsi share at even strength is slightly above the team’s overall Corsi share without him on the ice.

Jeannot is in the first season of a two-year, $5.33MM contract signed following an arbitration filing last summer. He will be a UFA upon expiry in 2025 and has a 16-team no-trade list that kicks in next season.

Lightning Could Be In The Market For A Defenseman

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Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports is reporting that Buffalo Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson isn’t looking to move on from the Sabres and has not approached management for a trade. The 35-year-old is a former Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche and could be in demand according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Johnson was the 2006 first-overall pick, and although he never reached the levels scouts had predicted for him. He has remained a stable defensive defenseman and solid penalty killer throughout his career. He was a good offensive contributor early in his career but hasn’t topped 27 points in a year since the 2013-14 season.

Things could change for Johnson, but at this point, he told Harrington that his focus is on Buffalo, and he doesn’t want to abandon the team midseason. Johnson signed a one-year contract in the off-season as a free agent with an AAV of $3.25MM.

The Sabres entered the season with hopes of competing for a playoff spot but currently sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and are 10 points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final playoff spot.

In other morning notes:

  • Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote today that newly acquired Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Lindholm and the team are both comfortable with waiting to see how he adjusts to the team and how the rest of the season and the playoffs go. It makes for both sides given that Lindholm is just four and a half months away from unrestricted free agency and the Canucks have to also consider a potential long-term extension for superstar Elias Pettersson. LeBrun adds that he believes the Canucks want to sign both players long-term and have coveted Lindholm for quite some time. The 29-year-old had an incredible debut with Vancouver, notching two goals in a 3-2 win. However, his second game was a disaster as Lindholm went -4 in a 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.
  • Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote today that he believes that the injury to Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev could prompt Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois to enter the market for a defenseman as there is a possibility that Sergachev could be out for the rest of the regular season due to injury. If the young defenseman is done playing until the playoffs it would open the door for BriseBois to go $8.5 million to go above the cap on LTIR. The issue Tampa Bay might run into is having the assets to make the move given that they don’t have a first-round pick until 2026 and their farm system is one of the worst in the NHL.

Mikhail Sergachev Undergoes Surgery For Fractured Tibia And Fibula

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Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev has undergone surgery to stabilize a fractured tibia and fibula in his left leg, per a statement from the team. No formal timetable for a return has been established, though head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times that he will be out for at least the remainder of the regular season. Sergachev suffered the injury in the second period of Tampa Bay’s Wednesday night loss to the New York Rangers. He was making his return from a separate lower-body injury that earned him a place on long-term injured reserve in December.

Sergachev has only appeared in 34 of Tampa’s 50 games this season, though his 19 points rank second among the team’s defensemen in scoring. He’s been clearly valuable to the team when he’s healthy, averaging over 22 minutes a night for the third season in a row. The 25-year-old is in the eighth season of his NHL career, totaling 475 career games and 257 career points. All but four of those games have come with Tampa Bay, who acquired the defenseman in a one-for-one swap with the Montreal Canadiens in 2017, sending Jonathan Drouin the other way.

Tampa Bay has leaned on multiple defensemen to fill in for Sergachev’s absence, with Calvin De Haan the most likely to slot in right away. De Haan has seven points through 45 games this season, playing in just over 16 minutes a night. The Lightning could also have Haydn Fleury as an extra on the NHL roster. Fleury has four points through 12 games this season. He’s also appeared in five AHL games, going without a point and recording six penalty minutes.

Sergachev (Lower Body) Stretchered Off In Second Period Versus Rangers

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Earlier today, the Lightning activated Mikhail Sergachev off LTIR, adding a key defenseman back into their lineup.  However, the return was short-lived as the team announced (Twitter link) that the blueliner suffered a lower-body injury, ending his return game prematurely.  The 25-year-old was injured in the second period in a collision with Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere.  Sergachev, who was coming back from a left leg injury, looked to suffer another injury to that same leg on the play and was stretchered off the ice.

Tanner Jeannot Placed On LTIR

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To make room for the activation of Mikhail Sergachev from LTIR earlier today, the Lightning quietly placed winger Tanner Jeannot on LTIR, reports Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider (Twitter link).  The 26-year-old has missed more than a month already with his lower-body injury so this placement is simply procedural but it allows them to avoid any salary cap-related transactions for a little longer.  However, Jeannot is expected to be activated at some point on their current road trip so the roster will need to be trimmed down soon enough.  Jeannot has a dozen points in 41 games in his first full season with Tampa Bay after being acquired from Nashville before last year’s trade deadline.

Mikhail Sergachev And Erik Cernak Will Play Tonight

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Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer Chris Krenn is reporting that Lightning defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak will dress tonight when the team takes on the New York Rangers. Both players have been out for extended periods of time as the Lightning have dealt with injuries to key contributors throughout the first half of the season.

Cernak has been out since January 11th with an upper-body injury and has missed seven games. He was knocked out of action after taking a hit from New Jersey Devils’ forward Nathan Bastian in what was the third instance of Cernak being knocked out of action due to a hit in less than a year. Cernak was also injured after a Josh Anderson hit knocked him out of action for three games back on December 31st. Most famously, Cernak was hit in last year’s NHL playoffs by then Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting, the hit knocked Cernak out of the playoffs and earned Bunting a three-game suspension.

This year Cernak has five assists in 39 games and is averaging just over 19 minutes a game in ice-time.

Sergachev has been out of the Lightning lineup since December 21st, a period of 17 games. The 25-year-old has been activated off the long-term injured reserve and will dress tonight. The former ninth overall pick in 2016 has two goals and 17 assists in 33 games this year while he has averaged almost 23 minutes of ice time per game. He was struggling before his injury after posting career-best numbers last year.

There is a possibility that Tampa Bay will elect to pair Sergachev and Cernak together on the Lightning’s second defensive pairing as the duo have practiced together in recent days.

Lightning Recall Mitchell Chaffee, Tanner Jeannot Expected To Return This Week

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  • The Lightning recalled winger Mitchell Chaffee from AHL Syracuse on Monday, per team reporter Chris Krenn. Chaffee, 26, had played in Tampa Bay’s final two games before the All-Star break but was loaned back to Syracuse during their bye week. With Tanner Jeannot and Austin Watson still sidelined, Chaffee will draw into the lineup for his fourth appearance of the season on Wednesday against the Rangers. He’s scored once and added an assist in his three showings thus far, averaging 8:25 per game.
  • While Jeannot remains out Wednesday, it won’t be long until the middle-six grinder is ready to return. Head coach Jon Cooper informed reporters Monday that the team expects him to return at some point during their upcoming four-game road trip, which concludes with a Feb. 13 contest in Boston. Jeannot has struggled in his first full season in the Sunshine State, scoring six goals and 12 points in 41 games while averaging 12:35 per game. It’s the production or role expected of him after Lightning GM Julien BriseBois swung big for his services ahead of last season’s trade deadline, parting with five draft picks, including a 2025 first-round selection. He’s been out of the lineup for nearly a month, sustaining a lower-body injury against the Bruins on Jan. 6.

Lightning Looking To Add A Defenseman

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Tampa Bay’s defensive depth has been tested this season with several players having extended stints out of the lineup.  Accordingly, it appears GM Julien BriseBois would like to add some insurance on that end as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that the Lightning have spoken with several teams in both conferences and that they’d like to add a blueliner over the next six weeks before the trade deadline.  Having said that, cap space is going to be at a premium once Mikhail Sergachev is activated off LTIR which should come soon after the All-Star break so making the finances work could be tricky.  Meanwhile, Tampa Bay only has one pick in the first four rounds of the draft this year (a third-rounder) which limits what they might be able to move out on the trade front if they find a player they like and can afford.

Tampa Bay Lightning Activate Haydn Fleury From LTIR

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  • In another activation from the long-term injured reserve, the Tampa Bay Lightning have done just that with defenseman Haydn Fleury, according to CapFriendly. Having been placed on the team’s LTIR since January 1st with an upper-body injury, Fleury has filled a similar role to which he has played in the past this season, averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time in 12 games for the team this year in a depth role.

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