Anaheim Ducks forward Isac Lundestrom will miss the first half of the 2023-24 season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon, the team confirmed, according to The Athletic's Eric Stephens.
Lundestrom underwent surgery and isn't expected back until January.
The 23-year-old tallied four goals and 10 assists in 61 games this past season. He was much more productive in 2021-22, registering 16 goals and 13 assists in 80 contests.
Lundestrom was projected to center the team's third line behind Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish. His absence could open the door for 2023 No. 2 pick Leo Carlsson to make the team out of training camp.
The Ducks drafted Lundestrom 23rd overall in 2018.
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ryan Ellis isn't expected to continue his NHL playing career due to a torn psoas muscle, president of hockey operations Keith Jones said Wednesday.
"We all wish for Ryan just as a human being because I've been through that at the end of my career when there's uncertainty about whether you would come back or not and then dealing with the reality of not coming back," Jones said, per NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. "It's a tough time. It's a very, really difficult time. I'm very sympathetic to what he's gone through."
Ellis hasn't played since November 2021. He only suited up in four games for the Flyers since being acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators in July 2021. The 32-year-old has four seasons remaining on his contract with a $6.25-million cap hit.
Ellis was a stellar two-way blue-liner during his prime years. From 2016-21, he averaged 49 points per 82 games and 23:47 per contest. He tallied 275 points in 566 career regular-season games, plus seven goals and 31 assists in 74 playoff contests.
The Flyers did receive good news on Wednesday, though, as Jones announced that forwards Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson are expected to be ready for training camp.
"The end of last season, they were ready to come back then," Jones said. "So now they're getting a full offseason of training and getting ready to prepare for the rigors of a long regular season. All indications are that they are full-go, and we're really excited about that."
Couturier underwent two back surgeries in less than a year, having procedures in February and October of 2022. The 2020 Selke Trophy winner missed all of last season and was limited to just 29 games in 2021-22, notching six goals and 11 assists.
Atkinson missed all of 2022-23 due to a neck injury, which required surgery in December. The speedy winger produced 23 goals and 27 assists in 73 games in 2021-22.
Matt and Blake discuss the Canadian 7 and where the Canucks might rank this upcoming season. They also talk about the plethora of centres in Montreal, and whether a deal could be struck to fill Vancouver's third-line centre role, as well as riffing off The Athletic's ranking of teams by contract efficiency and the progress the Canucks have made on that front. Frank Corrado returns from a summer vacation to discuss offseason training and how NHL players go about it, including when they're abroad on leisure time. Frank sizes up the Canadian 7, as well as some of the draft eligible talent at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament, plus tells us about ex-teammate Sven Baertschi, who is reportedly retiring. Chris Gear joins to tell us about his new firm, Blackfin Sports Group, a consulting and legal firm based in Vancouver and specializing in the sports & entertainment industry. Chris gives us the lowdown on what they will do and who is a part of his team. He also handicaps the Elias Pettersson contract extension, and speaks to Baertschi's career in Vancouver. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.
Former Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy thinks Brad Marchand has what it takes to succeed Patrice Bergeron as the team's next captain.
"Not that many guys are the perfect mix of everything, right? I think Bergeron was good at that, he led by example," Cassidy said during a recent appearance on "The Cam & Strick Podcast."
"He was still the hardest worker in practice; off ice, he made sure everyone felt welcome ... and set some of those rules that (Zdeno Chara) had put in place. Brad will be a great leader in terms of leading by example, will to win, been there done it."
Following Bergeron's retirement in late July, Marchand is now the longest-tenured Bruin. The 35-year-old has worn the "Spoked B" since the 2009-10 season and has amassed 372 goals and 862 points in 947 contests, ranking within the top 10 in franchise history in all three categories.
Marchand also won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2011 and is the organization's active leader in playoff goals (53), points (128), and games played (146).
Cassidy coached Marchand for six seasons before Boston fired him last June. He won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights this past spring during his first year behind the bench in Sin City.
The bench boss said the Bruins have plenty of "great choices" for the captaincy and may want to "go younger" by giving the nod to David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy.
If the Bruins end up tapping Marchand for the job, Cassidy said the talented pest will have to "learn how to deal with the younger players."
"He's got high expectations of everybody," he said. "That's just the way he is, there's nothing wrong with that, but how he communicates with those guys will probably be - my guess - his biggest challenge if he's the guy."
Bergeron donned the "C" in Beantown beginning in 2021, while Marchand has served as an alternate captain since 2018-19. Prior to naming Bergeron captain, the Bruins pranked the six-time Selke Trophy winner. The team pretended to give the honor to Marchand instead, even going as far as sewing a "C" onto his No. 63 jersey.
The Pittsburgh Penguins avoided arbitration with restricted free-agent forward Drew O'Connor on a two-year deal with an average annual value of $925,000, the team announced Wednesday.
O'Connor's arbitration hearing was set for Aug. 4. He can become an unrestricted free agent once his new contract expires.
The 25-year-old skated in a career-high 46 games this past season, racking up five goals and 11 points while averaging just under 10 minutes of ice time.
O'Connor also registered eight tallies and 22 points in 20 showings with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2022-23.
The Penguins signed O'Connor as an undrafted free agent in March 2020. He has amassed 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 78 career NHL games, all with Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is now approximately $3.2 million over the cap with a roster of 24 players, per CapFriendly. Teams can have a maximum of 23 players on the active roster during the season.
The Edmonton Oilers avoided arbitration with restricted free-agent center Ryan McLeod, agreeing on a two-year contract carrying an average annual value of $2.1 million, the team announced Tuesday.
McLeod was set to have an arbitration hearing Aug. 4. He'll remain an RFA with arbitration rights after the end of his new deal.
The 23-year-old recorded a career-high 11 goals and 23 points in 57 games with the Oilers last season while serving primarily as the team's third-line center. He averaged 14:11 per contest and won 48.2% of his faceoffs.
McLeod has posted strong underlying numbers defensively, both at five-on-five and on the penalty kill, throughout his three-year career:
Evolving-Hockey
The Oilers drafted McLeod 40th overall in 2018.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard is Edmonton's lone remaining RFA. The club has $3.5 million left in cap space, per CapFriendly.
Matt (hiccup) has some issues in the final segment of the show, but pushes on to handle an extensive Es & Os segment including a (burp) mishap from the previous day. The guys discuss the need for another major Canucks move to be a playoff club, as well as the Lions game in Winnipeg Thursday with Dane Evans back at QB, and the arrival of a Mexican giant, Club Tigres, to BC Place Friday for a Leagues Cup match against Whitecaps FC. Patrick Johnston stops by after going quiet for week on social media and getting admonished by Matt. He discusses the rise of the Lions and Whitecaps and the new expectations of Vancouver sports crowd (winning) heading into Canucks season. They also discuss the brilliant career of Christine Sinclair amidst a colossal failure by Canada at the World Cup. Vanni Sartini (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) tells us why Tigres is the best club in CONCACAF and how much he's looking forward to the test they'll bring to Vancouver, as well as updating his lineup for Friday and commenting on what the team needs to compete in MLS with the trade deadline and transfer window almost closed. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.
