Dylan Larkin Will Have Department Of Player Safety Hearing
12:33 pm: Head coach Jeff Blashill reports that Larkin’s absence from most of practice was indeed due to the Joseph hit. Blashill notes that Larkin will “see some people today,” likely meaning the team will issue an update tonight or tomorrow.
10:50 am: Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will have a Department of Player Safety hearing Friday for roughing the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Mathieu Joseph, the league announced.
The play originated with Joseph making a controversial hit on Larkin into the boards, which caused Larkin to fall. Larkin’s hearing generates from when he got back up from the fall, immediately punching an unsuspecting Joseph, who fell to the ice.
Referees assessed Joseph a roughing penalty on the play, while Larkin was assessed a match penalty and removed from the game. He finished the night with a goal and a +3 rating. It was an unexpectedly chaotic home opener for the Red Wings, who fell 7-6 to the Lightning in overtime after entering the last ten minutes of the third period with a 6-3 lead.
MLive.com’s Ansar Khan reports that Larkin made a brief appearance at the Red Wings’ practice this morning, but promptly left the ice. It’s unclear at this time whether this has to do with the timing of the hearing or if Larkin suffered any injury on the play.
Casey Mittelstadt And Henri Jokiharju Out A Couple Of Weeks
Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato announced Friday morning that center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Henri Jokiharju will both be sidelined for “a couple of weeks” with different injuries.
Mittelstadt left Thursday night’s 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear as to when or on what play Mittelstadt sustained the injury. Jokiharju played the entirety of last night’s contest, logging 16:39 of ice time. He’s sidelined with a lower-body ailment.
Granato notes that Arttu Ruotsalainen and Will Butcher will likely draw into the lineup Saturday against Arizona in the place of Mittelstadt and Jokiharju. He also says the team wants “to get everybody in,” making it seem like additional call-ups from the AHL’s Rochester Americans are likely coming to bolster the roster.
It’s an extremely tough break for a Sabres team that got off to an unexpectedly strong start, albeit through just one game. They’ll now have to move forward without their number one center in addition to a top-pairing defenseman for multiple weeks.
If Granato’s “couple of weeks” prognosis holds true, Mittelstadt and Jokiharju could miss six games over the course of the next two weeks. The Sabres have a rather light schedule to begin the season but have a pair of tough matchups against the Boston Bruins on October 22 and the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on October 25.
Zach Bogosian Out 4-6 Weeks
The return of Zach Bogosian to Tampa Bay is off to a tough start. After the Lightning lost game one of this season to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Bogosian won’t get another chance to get on the ice for quite some time. The veteran defenseman is out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, according to team reporter Bryan Burns. The team has recalled Andrej Sustr in his place.
It’s been a very interesting few years for Bogosian, who was a highly-paid member of the Buffalo Sabres as of February 2020. The Sabres decided to waive and then assign Bogosian to the minor leagues, which didn’t sit well with the veteran defenseman, so he decided not to report and forfeited the rest of his $6MM 2019-20 salary. Turned out it was quite the successful move, as after going through a contract termination, Bogosian signed on with the Lightning just in time to help them win the Stanley Cup.
Last season, he ended up with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a Cup-winning veteran that was supposed to bring playoff toughness, but failed to help that team slay their first-round demons. Why chase rings around the league when you can just stay in Tampa? That’s exactly what Bogosian did this offseason, signing a three-year deal with the Lightning with a full no-trade clause.
Now out more than a month, the Lightning will need to find an answer on their third pair that isn’t Bogosian. Cal Foote, the obvious choice, is still working his way back from his own injury and was wearing a red no-contact sweater at practice. So it’s Sustr for the time being, despite the 6’7″ behemoth last playing in the NHL during the 2018-19 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Barre-Boulet, Brooks, Brown Claimed Off Waivers
Three players were claimed off waivers today, just before opening night rosters are submitted. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Seattle Kraken claimed Alex Barre-Boulet from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens claimed Adam Brooks from the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers claimed Patrick Brown from the Vegas Golden Knights. The Washington Capitals also re-claimed Axel Jonsson-Fjallby from the Buffalo Sabres and assuming they were the only team to put in a claim, can now send him directly to the minor leagues. The other 39 players placed on waivers yesterday have cleared.
Barre-Boulet seemed the likeliest player to be claimed among yesterday’s group, as the 24-year-old has not only shown extremely well at the minor league level, but also is signed at league minimum for the next three seasons. The former Lightning prospect signed a three-year deal in July that pays him $750K at the NHL level this year and next, and $775K in 2023-24 when the minimum increases. That alone makes him valuable and he’ll now get a chance to show exactly what he can do in Seattle, rather than be blocked by countless talented teammates in Tampa Bay.
Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2018, Barre-Boulet was a superstar in the QMJHL but lacks the size of a traditional NHL player. That certainly hasn’t held him back in the AHL, as he has posted 136 points in 144 games for the Syracuse Crunch since turning pro. That includes eight goals in just ten games last season, which helped elevate him to the NHL level where he played in 15 games for the Lightning. Though he is by no means a lock to produce for the Kraken, it was an easy choice to add his talent to the organization when it came available.
Brooks too seemed like an inevitable loss for the Maple Leafs when they decided to place him on waivers instead of Michael Amadio yesterday. Toronto will lose their depth forward to the rival Canadiens and could see him on the other side of the ice quickly. Montreal will travel to Toronto on Wednesday for their season opener, though it’s not clear if Brooks will step directly into the lineup. The 25-year-old has always seemed to play well when given the chance–that just hasn’t been very often. He has played just 18 regular season games for the Maple Leafs thus far, registering eight points.
There seems to be something of a trend in Philadelphia, where Brown will be the latest Boston College alumni to join the roster. He played college hockey with both Kevin Hayes and Cam Atkinson, winning the national championship in 2012 with the former. He adds plenty of pro experience but not a lot at the NHL level, given he’s only suited up for 33 regular season games. Incredibly, that total has almost been matched by his postseason experience, where he has played in 22 games the last three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes and Golden Knights.
Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Jon Cooper
The Tampa Bay Lightning have officially signed head coach Jon Cooper to a three-year extension, keeping him under contract through the 2024-25 season. The deal comes just a few weeks after the team extended GM Julien BriseBois, and secures the foundation of the team’s leadership for several years. BriseBois released a statement explaining just why the Lightning are keeping Cooper around:
Unequivocally, Coop is the best person for the job. He is a great leader, spokesperson and ambassador for our organization. We are lucky to have him as our head coach and I very much look forward to our continued partnership.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion now, Cooper really does win at every level. In 2012 he took home the Calder Cup and won AHL Coach of the Year, in 2010 the Clar Cup and USHL Coach of the Year, in 2008 the Robertson Cup and NAHL Coach of the Year, and in 2002 the Hurster Cup in the CSHL. His next test will be this February when he leads the Canadian Olympic team in their pursuit of another gold medal.
With a 384-197-53 regular season record, there’s not really anything to critique about Cooper’s performance behind the bench in Tampa Bay. When the team was swept out of the first round in 2019, some wondered whether he was the one who would be able to get them over the playoff hump. He responded with consecutive titles, and has the Lightning poised to compete for a third-straight Stanley Cup.
Though the Lightning have not released any financial details on the contract, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that it will likely carry an annual salary close to Joel Quenneville‘s $5.5MM.
Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning Begin Extension Talks
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that the Tampa Bay Lightning have begun contract extension talks with head coach Jon Cooper. Cooper is entering the final season of a three-year deal paying him $3.5MM per season.
A raise is undoubtedly in order for Cooper, who’s now guided the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. It’s an incredible achievement for Cooper, who’s already the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL. He took over the reins with 15 games left in the 2012-13 season after Guy Boucher was fired.
The Lightning have never won less than 40 games in a full season coached by Cooper, who’s now 54 years old. His coaching record stands at 384-197-53, good enough for a .647 points percentage during his time as a head coach in the league. Those numbers tie him for 42nd all-time in wins and 11th among all current head coaches in the league.
Cooper’s job could get more challenging this year. Salary cap constraints hit the Lightning hard this offseason, and they’re now a team that will be relying on their youth more than in recent years. He’s shown at multiple junctures in the past that he can get the most out of Tampa’s prospect system, helping coach underappreciated assets like Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli to the heights of their success.
He’ll have to perform a similar act this year with names such as Ross Colton, Callan Foote, Mathieu Joseph, and other potential roster players such as Alex Barre-Boulet and Taylor Raddysh. If Cooper’s able to guide Tampa Bay to yet another Stanley Cup championship, he could become the first coach to win three straight Stanley Cups since Al Arbour won four in a row from 1980 to 1983.
Anthony Cirelli To Miss Another Week
- Lightning center Anthony Cirelli left Thursday’s exhibition game early due to a lower-body injury and will be out at least one week, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old is coming off a quiet year offensively that saw him put up 22 points in 50 games last season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Extend GM Julien Brisebois
Steve Yzerman may have built the foundation, but it was Julien Brisebois who put the finishing touches on a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion. For that, the Tampa Bay Lightning have awarded their general manager a much deserved extension. As first reported by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Brisebois has signed a new multi-year contract to remain in Tampa.
Brisebois is just 44 years old and already has one of the most impressive front office resumes in hockey. Brisebois was promoted to GM of the Lightning in 2018 after eight years as Assistant GM and GM of the club’s AHL affiliate, at first the Norfolk Admirals and then the Syracuse Crunch. Prior to joining Tampa Bay, Brisebois has worked for his hometown Montreal Canadiens for six years as a Director/Vice President of Hockey Operations and also as AHL GM. In addition to these two Cups with the Lightning, Brisebois oversaw Calder Cup titles with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2010 and the Admirals in 2012.
This extension should squash any remaining belief out of Montreal that Brisebois could take after his mentor Yzerman and return to his hometown team. With current Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin on an expiring contract this year, there was some hope from Habs fans that perhaps the historic team could poach Brisebois. Instead, he will stick with Tampa, which still has one of the most talented rosters in the NHL even after several key departures this off-season. The salary cap could continue to chip away at the Lightning core, but with Brisebois at the helm the team can rest easy that they are in good hands.
Yanni Gourde Could Return Ahead Of Schedule For Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken could be getting a top-six fixture back in the lineup earlier than expected. General manager Ron Francis reported in his press conference today, on the opening day of training camp for the team, that Gourde’s recovery from injury was progressing “ahead of schedule,” meaning he could be back in the lineup earlier than the previously projected early-December return.
Gourde was Seattle’s selection from the Tampa Bay Lightning in this year’s expansion draft, and he was immediately expected to take on an increased role in Seattle. Serving as arguably the best third-line center in the league behind Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli, Gourde brings a hard-working, solid two-way game with 50-60 point upside. Widely projected as the team’s no. 1 or no. 2 center, it was revealed just days after the draft that Gourde would miss the first two months of the season after having shoulder surgery.
It should be noted that Gourde was indeed at Seattle’s first day of training camp today, albeit in a red non-contact jersey.
The 29-year-old (soon to be 30) Gourde is among one of the best undrafted talents in the NHL. He’s brought home the Stanley Cup in two of his four full NHL seasons, all with Tampa Bay. His rookie campaign in 2017-18 saw him elevated into a top-six role due to injury, and he didn’t disappoint. Despite being 26 years old at the time, his 25 goals and 64 points in 82 games was good enough to earn him some Calder votes, finishing sixth overall in voting for the trophy.
Seattle hopes that a healthy Gourde in a top-six role this season can offer similar production.
Cal Foote Will Miss Start Of Regular Season After Surgery
There have been several injury updates throughout the league today as training camps get underway and one of them came from Tampa Bay. GM Julien BriseBois told reporters, including Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link) that defenseman Cal Foote recently underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in his finger. He’s expected to miss all of training camp plus the first two-to-four weeks of the season as a result.
The 22-year-old spent most of last season with the Lightning, playing in 35 games during the regular season although he didn’t suit up in the playoffs. The 14th pick in 2017, Foote was expected to push for a spot on the third pairing in camp and now that he’s waiver-eligible, his days in the minors were likely over. Instead, he’ll be on the outside looking in once the regular season gets underway next month.
The timetable for a return is noteworthy here. Tampa Bay is protected to have a roster that’s right up against the Upper Limit even with Brent Seabrook’s eventual transfer back to LTIR and it’s one that will be below the maximum size of 23. If Foote is expected to return within the first two weeks of the season, he won’t miss enough time to be eligible for LTIR; players need to be out for three weeks or ten games to qualify. If he’s projected to be out that long, they’ll be able to place Foote on there and bring up a replacement that carries roughly the same $850K AAV that he does.
While there were some injuries from the playoffs for Tampa Bay, Foote is the only Lightning player expected to miss the start of the season. In a pair of other tweets, Smith notes that defenseman Victor Hedman has fully recovered from his meniscus surgery while winger Alex Killorn is still rehabbing from his broken fibula but is expected to be ready for opening night.