Thursday LNN: More Injuries, More Protective Gear, More Rule Changes, and More Updates

Another week, another edition of your Thursday Links, News, and Notes!

• The injury to Evander Kane last week was pretty ugly and while he was able to get help in time and is expected to fully recover, things could have been much worse. During the GM’s bi-annual meeting, the topic of mandating more cut-resistant gear was touched upon. The equipment is available to all players and has proven to protect against skate cuts whether it’s to the wrist or Achilles heel, but the NHLPA has always been adamant about players’ freedom when it comes to additional gear so it’ll be interesting to see if this discussion gains any traction.
• More from the bi-annual GM meeting: the GMs discussed a variety of potential rule changes including expanding review to see if a player shoots the puck over the glass in the defensive zone, and reducing the penalty for a failed coach’s challenge. While you want to ensure that you get as many calls correct as possible, the league needs to be careful not to further slow down the game with even more reviews.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs are recovering from their slow start and sit comfortably in second place in the division (booo). They finally got Matt Murray back but then received some concerning news about two of their defensemen. Jake Muzzin, who hasn’t played since October 17th, is now out indefinitely with a cervical spine injury. With the severity of the injury and his history of concussions dating back to 2020, the Leafs may need to prepare to not have him back. TJ Brodie was also placed on IR with an oblique injury but he should be back within a couple of weeks. I know a GM who could be looking to move a depth defenseman.....
• On the other side, the Montreal Canadiens will be without Jonathan Drouin for 4-6 weeks while he heals from an upper-body injury.
• The Canada- US Women’s rivalry series is back! Unfortunately, it was not the start Team Canada was hoping for as team USA grabbed the shootout win in the opener with a score of 4-3. They are back at it tonight as the US hosts the second game in Seattle.
• Anything is possible if you just believe, right? Well, I don’t care if it makes sense or not but I am sure going to manifest an Erik Karlsson comeback at any opportunity I can get!/

Marek on Erik Karlsson: I wondered about Ottawa.

Friedman: I think those conversations have happened between the Sharks and the Sens, I believe the two teams have talked about it. I don’t know if it’s going to be possible. What I heard was it’s just not going to be cap possible.

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) November 16, 2022