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Around the NHL: The injury bug sweeps across the league
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Photo credit: Perry Nelson/USA Today Sports
Ryley Delaney
Sep 26, 2024, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 26, 2024, 13:17 EDT
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In just over a week, the National Hockey League season begins.
With pre-season starting, there have been a ton of injuries from around the league, with the New York Rangers being hit hard by the bug. Moreover, some players signed extensions in recent times.
Let’s take a look at all of that in the latest Around the NHL!

Rangers face the injury bug

The defending Presidents’ Trophy winners are in tough, as two key players have suffered injuries in recent times. Namely, Artemi Panarin and Ryan Lindgren.
Panarin is the bigger loss and he’s dealing with a lower-body injury according to head coach Peter Laviolette. Last season, the 32-year-old Russian forward scored a career-high 49 goals and 120 points in 82 games, along with five goals and 15 points in 16 post-season games.
Defenceman Ryan Lindgren suffered an upper-body injury in a fight and will be out for a few weeks. Last season, the left-shot defenceman scored three goals and 17 points, along with three assists in the Rangers’ 16 post-season games.

Evander Kane out five to six months

A player who’ll be out of action for a significantly longer period is Evander Kane, who underwent abdominal surgery last week and will be out at a minimum, five to six months.
It’s been well documented that Kane was dealing with a sports hernia last season, but he still managed to score 24 goals and 44 points in 77 games. Moreover, he scored four goals and eight points in 20 post-season games, well below the 13 goals and 17 points in 15 games during the 2021-22 post-season.
As you can imagine, the Edmonton Oilers will place the 33-year-old on the long-term injured list and get significant cap relief come trade deadline. Not just that, but their forward core is still arguably the deepest in the league, as Kane was projected to slot in as their third line left wing.

Drew Doughty injured in Wednesday’s game

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Kings’ defenceman Drew Doughty got tangled up with his former teammate, Tanner Pearson, and appeared to injure his left leg, needing help to get off the ice.
If the right-shot defenceman is out for any significant period of time, this is a sizable loss for the Kings. Last season, he scored 15 goals, the most since his 2009-10 season, while also putting up 50 points.
For the third straight season, the Kings were bounced in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers in five games. Hopefully, it’s not a long-term injury for the 34-year-old.

Cole Perfetti signed a two-year extension

Switching gears from injuries to extension, the Winnipeg Jets signed Cole Perfetti to a two-year bridge deal worth $6.5 million, or $3.25 million annually.
Selected with the 10th-overall pick in 2020, Perfetti became a regular in 2022-23, scoring eight goals and 30 points in 51 games. He improved significantly last season with the Jets, scoring 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games, while only playing one of the Jets’ five post-season games.
Still only 22 years old, he hasn’t even come close to hitting his ceiling yet.

Logan O’Connor signed a long-term extension

Another player to sign an extension in recent times is Colorado Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor, who agreed to a six-year deal worth $15 million, or $2.5 million annually.
It’s good value for the middle-six forward, who scored a career-high 13 goals in 2023-24, along with 25 points. While he didn’t match his career-high of 26 points set in 2022-23, the undrafted 28-year-old only played 57 games compared to 82 the season prior.
That time was missed due to a hip injury, eventually getting surgery on it in March and missing Colorado’s post-season run.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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