Latest On Alex Killorn
Despite stars such as Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ryan O’Reilly set to hit free agency, the leading scorer among pending unrestricted free agent forwards is actually a less heralded name: Alex Killorn. The 33-year-old longtime Tampa Bay Lightning forward has had a career-best year, scoring 61 points through 78 games. An exceptional net-front presence, Killorn could be a fit for quite a few teams looking to add some scoring punch in the offseason.
According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN on the latest Insider Trading segment, while the Lightning are going to try to find a way to keep Killorn, he’s “likely headed to market.” LeBrun points to the significant pay raises for Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Anthony Cirelli that are set to kick in next season as a major contributor to what is a likely Killorn departure, and references Ondrej Palat‘s free agency last summer as a comparable for Killorn’s current situation. While his age may keep him from the type of long-term deal Palat signed, Killorn’s strong performance this season makes him among the most attractive forwards set to hit the market in a few months.
Killorn, Fox, Friedman Earn Fines
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced a pair of fines on Thursday afternoon, stemming from last night’s incidents in the Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Rangers game. Alex Killorn owes $5,000 for his slash on Igor Shesterkin, while Adam Fox will pay $5,000 for slashing Corey Perry.
While they might be called slashes by the league, both were actually spears. Killorn came flying in to poke at a puck in the crease while Shesterkin was sitting in the net, causing a massive brawl as the Rangers attempted to protect their netminder. Fox speared Perry in the gut, sending him sprawling to the ice.
Neither one was likely to draw a suspension, but will certainly put some more gasoline on a pretty intense rivalry. While a playoff matchup between the two clubs may be difficult this year, plays like this won’t be forgotten.
The league also issued a $2,000 fine to Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman for embellishment. That means it was his second citation of the year for diving, as the fines escalate and start with a warning. The first incident came during a December 28 game against Detroit, while the latest was in Sunday’s match against the Flyers.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Moore, Briere
The NHL released its Three Stars of the week ending April 2 and it shows a trio of league superstars who are gearing up for the postseason. Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was named the first star of the week. He started three games for the Lightning, winning them all, getting shutouts in two of those games and allowing just one goal in those three starts. Vasilevskiy shut out the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders while stopping 99 out of the 100 shots he faced in the past seven days.
Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers was the second star of the week. He helped the Oilers win all four of their games by scoring five goals and eight points as the Oilers officially clinched a playoff spot. His best game of the week came on Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks when he scored a hat trick in a 6-0 victory for the Oilers.
The league’s third star of the week was Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak. He continued his hot pace that has lasted all season, just like his team. The Bruins won three of their four games last week with Pastrnak scoring five goals and six points in those four games. He now has 56 goals and 103 points on the season and has played a big role in the Bruins already reaching 60 wins and clinching the President’s Trophy as the team with the best regular season record.
- Per Mark Divver of NHL.com, Detroit Red Wings prospect Cooper Moore found a new place to play next season. The defenseman has played the past three seasons at North Dakota, but will be heading to Quinnipiac next season as a senior. The 22 year old was a fifth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2019 and scored 13 points in 31 games at North Dakota last season.
- Mercyhurst forward Carson Briere has been released from the team, per Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News. Briere was caught on video pushing a wheelchair down a flight of stairs last month. He just finished his third season of college hockey, scoring five goals and 13 points in 30 games, but will not be back for a fourth season at Mercyhurst.
Injury Notes: Buchnevich, Thomas, Chabot, Cole
The St. Louis Blues will be without top forward Robert Thomas tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury, the team announced Wednesday. Thomas scored a goal in the Blues win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, and has had a strong season, with 17 goals and 46 assists for 63 points in 70 games. Thomas is now one of the core pieces up front for the Blues, and is set to begin an eight-year contract with an AAV of $8.125MM, which could soon be a bargain for a player of Thomas’ caliber. Thomas is third on the Blues in points this season.
- Sticking with the Blues, they will also be without winger Pavel Buchnevich tonight against Chicago. The winger will miss the game with an upper-body injury. He had a goal and an assist against Vancouver on Tuesday, and is second on the Blues in scoring with 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points in 59 games. Buchnevich scored 57 goals in his final three seasons with the New York Rangers, but has 55 goals for the Blues in the past two seasons, making the acquisition look like a boon for the Blues.
- Ottawa Senators defensemen Thomas Chabot will not play tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Chabot played on Monday for the Sens, recording an assist in the 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers. As the Sens try to make a late playoff push, losing Chabot on the blueline won’t help matters. He has 11 goals and 30 assists this season in 68 games.
- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian Cole will return to the lineup as the team hosts the Washington Capitals, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. The veteran defenseman missed Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes and returns as the Bolts are set to host the Washington Capitals tonight.
Lightning Prospect Isaac Howard Transfers To Michigan State
Back at the draft, things were looking up for prospect Isaac Howard. He was coming off an impressive season with the US NTDP program where he put up 82 points in 60 games, helping him get picked 31st overall by Tampa Bay.
However, things haven’t gone as smoothly since then. The 18-year-old struggled considerably in his first taste of college hockey, notching just 17 points in 35 games with Minnesota-Duluth. Earlier this month, Howard opted to enter the transfer portal and he has found his next school, announcing (Twitter link) that he will be joining Michigan State next season.
Howard becomes the second drafted prospect to join the Spartans with Detroit forward Red Savage transferring there earlier this week. They are the only two drafted forwards on the roster at the moment so there should be an opportunity for Howard to play an important role with his new school although Michigan State could bring back their top three scorers from this season for 2023-24 as well.
Isaac Howard Enters NCAA Transfer Portal
- Chris Peters of Flo Hockey reports Isaac Howard is entering NCAA’s transfer portal. This will pave his departure from the University of Minnesota-Duluth after one season. Howard was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022 and had six goals and 17 points in 35 games as a freshman. Peters also mentions this could lead him to reuniting with former coach Adam Nightingale who is behind the bench of Michigan State, but nothing is official yet.
Hockey Canada Names World Championship Management Team
St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong will lead Canada’s management team for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, taking the same role for the national program. He’ll be joined by Steve Yzerman, serving as associate GM, Shane Doan as assisting GM, and Scott Salmond as senior vice president of hockey operations. Tyler Dietrich, Jim McKenzie, Jamie Pushor, and Tim Taylor will round out the player selection committee.
Salmond released a statement:
We are excited to unveil the experienced management group and selection committee that will lead Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, and that will help build the staff and roster that will wear the Maple Leaf in May. Doug, Steve and Shane have been successful in the NHL and at the Olympics, world championships and world cups, and Jim, Jamie and Tim bring critical NHL experience. We are fortunate to have six individuals with extensive pedigrees who are dedicated to helping us build towards our goal of winning a gold medal in Tampere and Riga.
The tournament, scheduled to begin on May 12 when Canada faces the co-hosting Latvian squad, will see a group of NHL players that failed to make the postseason (or were eliminated quickly) take part in the highest-level international tournament of the year.
While it isn’t true best-on-best, as several teams will still be chasing down the Stanley Cup, the Worlds have taken on a bigger stage since NHL players were once again held out of the Olympics. Last year, a Finnish team led by players like Mikael Granlund, Miro Heiskanen, and Joel Armia was able to defeat a Canadian squad with the likes of Mathew Barzal, Dylan Cozens, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Thomas Chabot in the gold medal match.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Max Crozier
According to a team release, the Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Max Crozier to a 2-year entry-level contract. Crozier will make a salary of $925K in the NHL, and a salary of $70K in the AHL. The contract will begin next season, as Crozier will play the rest of the year for the team’s AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch on an amateur tryout.
Drafted 120th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Crozier mounted a strong collegiate career for Providence College. He led all Providence defensemen last season in points, scoring three goals and 21 assists throughout the year. In the entirety of his career, playing in a total of 120 games, Crozier amassed 71 total points. Although he was unable to lead Providence into the Frozen Four tournament, the now-former captain of the team becomes a valuable prospect in Tampa Bay’s pipeline.
Joining one of the more successful AHL franchises, the Syracuse Crunch looks poised to return to the Calder Cup Playoffs. Currently sitting at 29-22-5, they find themselves in third place in the North division. As they drive to make the playoffs, Crozier will be able to accrue valuable experience being injected into a playoff hunt.
Injury Notes: Ovechkin, Stamkos, Morrissey
Shortly after the announcement that Alex Ovechkin would be a game-time decision for the Washington Capitals tonight, the team confirmed that their captain will be sitting out with a lower-body injury. This will only be the 53rd game that Ovechkin has missed due to injury in his entire career.
The Capitals chose to be sellers at the deadline, but they still sit only a few points back of the Eastern Conference wild-card race. As they looked to pick up a crucial two points against their Metropolitan rival tonight, it will now be even more difficult without their top scorer in the lineup. Replacing Ovechkin in the lineup will be recent callup, Joe Snively. Although Snively has yet to score at a consistent level in the NHL, he has been a very productive forward for the Capitals’ AHL affiliate Hershey Bears.
Other notes:
- Similar to Washington, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that their captain will also be sitting out tonight with a lower-body injury. During a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 11th, Steven Stamkos awkwardly collided with Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson, sending him to the dressing room for the remainder of the game. Although he did play Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets, he will not play in tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils, likely to make sure his left leg has fully recovered.
- After sitting out on Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet reports that Jets’ defenseman Josh Morrissey will not play in tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes as well. In his absence, the Jets will give depth defenseman Kyle Capobianco the nod as he will replace Morrissey in the lineup.
East Notes: Sabres Injuries, Stamkos, Steeves
The Buffalo Sabres issued updates on several key injuries this morning. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not practice with the team this morning. A few moments later, the team announced that goaltender Eric Comrie is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, Mike Harrington of TBN Sports shared a video of Alex Tuch practicing in a regular jersey this morning; he has been out of the lineup since their February 24th game against the Florida Panthers.
Going 4-5-1 in their last ten games, the Sabres are beginning to falter in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After their loss last night, they are now seven points behind the New York Islanders, the current holder of the final wild-card spot. With three games in hand, the Sabres are not out of it yet, but the injuries to the back end will not help their playoff aspirations. On the bright side of things, the potential return of Tuch gives Buffalo the ability to put another point-per-game player back into their lineup. In 57 games this year, Tuch has scored 28 goals and 34 assists, helping create a solid trio with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner.
Other notes:
- In an awkward collision into the boards with new Chicago Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson, Steven Stamkos left yesterday’s game with an apparent leg injury. After getting up, Stamkos appeared to be unable to put any pressure on his left leg, hobbling back to the bench. The Tampa Bay Lightning have given no official update as to the status of Stamkos, but the team did report that head coach Jon Cooper believes he will be “OK”, and they kept him out last night’s game as a precaution. With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Lightning are battling with the Toronto Maple Leafs for home territory in the first round.
- In a press release this morning, the Maple Leafs announced that forward Alex Steeves has been recalled from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, a day after he was demoted to the minors. In 55 games this season with the Marlies, Steeves has scored 17 goals and 28 assists. The Maple Leafs have employed him more sparingly throughout the year, playing in only three games with the NHL club, and averaging just under eight minutes of ice time.