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Golden Knights Wrap: Lehner and Smith to IR, Cotter and Pachal Recalled

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Brayden Pachal Henderson Silver Knights (Photo- Henderson Silver Knights via Twitter)

I’ve never done two daily wraps/links in the span of one day before but here we are. With the Vegas Golden Knights injury crisis and some other news and notes that have come out today, I figured we’d do another VHN wrap this afternoon.

The Trade Deadline is only one week away, but why is it that this deadline seemed to be quieter than normal. I have my own little personal theory as to why and it involves the Vegas Golden Knights.

Vegas: Five reasons to be optimistic about the Golden Knights.

Vegas: Five reasons to be pessimistic about the Golden Knights.

News: Both Paul Cotter and Brayden Pachal have been recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights. It’s great to see both these young players get another shot in the NHL, but the reason they are here is not so sweet. The Golden Knights could potentially be missing ten players for Tuesday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. Let’s go over the status of each injured player.

Alec Martinez (LTIR): Marty has a facial laceration after he took a skate to the face against the Minnesota Wild way back in November. He has been skating with the team sporting both a nasty scar and a full-contact jersey as of 2/28. His timetable is unknown and your guess is as good as mine to when we could see him. Peter DeBoer has shot down the rumors of Martinez remaining out due to salary cap reasons. Last Game: 11/11

Mark Stone (LTIR): It has now been a month since Stone was placed on LTIR which conveniently freed up cap space for Jack Eichel. Back issues are what is keeping him out as Stone’s injury is something he has dealt with all season. He has now missed 33 games in total in 2021-22. Last Game: 2/8

Mattias Janmark (IR): Janmark last played against the Arizona Coyotes and left alongside Max Pacioretty in that game. DeBoer stated that both Janmark and Pacioretty would be out for a while and since only Patches has returned. The injury to Janmark is only listed as upper-body and he is on IR. Last Game: 2/25

Brayden McNabb (IR): A huge loss for the Golden Knights, McNabb was the last remaining player on the team who had played in every game of the season up until he was injured against the Boston Bruins. He left the game with an undisclosed injury which is now said to be to his arm. DeBoer stated after the Boston loss that McNabb would be getting pictures done to identify the injury. He is currently on IR. Last Game: 3/3

Brett Howden (IR): Howden seemed to disappear from the Golden Knights lineup after having a tremendous February with seven points in six games. He did not travel with the Golden Knights on their current five-game road trip which will wrap up Tuesday against the Jets. The exact injury to Howden is unknown. Last Game: 3/3

Reilly Smith (IR): Both Smith and Robin Lehner unexpectedly did not play against the Buffalo Sabres and were flown back to Las Vegas due to injury. Smith’s injury is to his knee and is the first major injury to him this season. He has been placed on injured reserve as of Monday. Last Game: 3/8

Robin Lehner (IR): Here we are back again discussing Lehner’s health. After the rumors of him having surgery were shot down by the Panda himself, Lehner returned to Las Vegas due to a lower-body injury. SinBin Vegas is reporting that Lehner’s injury could result in him having to wear crutches. With the trade deadline looming the Golden Knights might be looking at some goaltending options with Lehner potentially sidelined for another significant period of time. He entered IR Monday as well. Last Game: 3/8

Max Pacioretty (DTD): It has been a long season for Pacioretty who has gone several injuries. The latest of which came against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a late scratch against the Blue Jackets and now with Paul Cotter recalled, things don’t look so good for Pacioretty once more. Last Game: 3/11

Ben Hutton (COVID): Yes, COVID-19 protocols are still a thing in the NHL, just since the All-Star Game they have significantly been decreased thanks to the new testing policy. Hutton missed the game against the Blue Jackets and will not play against the Jets. But he should be back soon after. Last Game: 3/11

Daniil Miromanov: Miromanov has not been announced to be out with an injury, but putting two and two together we can assume the worst. The Russian defenseman left Sunday’s game against the Blue Jackets after taking a puck to the face and did return. Now Brayden Pachal has been recalled, which likely doesn’t mean good things for Miromanov.

Anyways- that was all depressing. Here’s a funny video that went viral the other day.

Bonus NHL News, Trades, and National Hockey Now

Let’s get to some bonus news for today.

Colorado: We have a trade to announce. The Colorado Avalanche have acquired Josh Manson from the Anaheim Ducks and have broke open the NHL Trade Market.

Montreal: This sets the market for defensemen on the trade block. Is Ben Chiarot next to be traded?

Boston: The Bruins could be the next team to go duck hunting and shop from the Anaheim Ducks.

Long Island: John Gibson absolutely robbed former teammate Kyle Palmieri, much to his disapproval. ‘Are you #@?! kidding me, John?’

San Jose: The Sharks and Tomas Hertl are in a true “will he or won’t he” scenario with the winger re-signing as the trade deadline looms.

Detroit: Mo Seider= good at hockey.

Philly: Flyers legend and former general manager of the team Bobby Clarke is set to honor Claude Giroux as he nears what could be the end of his Philadelphia Flyers career. And yes, Clarke knows his name this time. Context—-