In today’s News & Notes, Matt Grzelcyk is in concussion protocol and is day-to-day, Oskar Sundqvist has a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and some minor transaction news around the NHL.
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Grzelcyk Day-to-Day
The Boston Bruins will likely be without Grzelcyk for at least Game 3 as the young defender is suffering from a concussion and is being listed as day-to-day by the team. Grzelcyk would leave Game 2 following his head being hit into the end-glass by St. Louis Blues’ forward Oskar Sundqvist.
There’s no telling how long Grzelcyk will be out of action for but his injury will certainly be felt given his importance to the team. It was already felt after he left the first period with the Bruins losing in overtime by a score of 3-2 and the team won’t have much time to regroup as they take on the Blues in St. Louis on Saturday.
Related: Matt Grzelcyk’s Injury Will Test Bruins Depth & Resilience
The hit would also lead to supplemental discipline for Sundqvist who would only receive a two-minute minor penalty on the play.
Sundqvist to Have Hearing With NHL DoPS
The Blues will likely be without Sundqvist for at least one game following his hit to the head of Grzelcyk in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Sundqvist would only receive a minor penalty for the infraction but the NHL deemed the contract to be worthy of supplemental discipline.
It’s unknown how long the suspension will eventually be for Sundqvist but it isn’t surprising that he received a call from Player Safety given the primary point of contact was Grzelcyk’s head and the fact that the Bruins’ defender was injured on the play. It should be noted that there didn’t appear to be any malicious intent on the hit, though.
Sunqvist has scored four goals and nine points in 21 games so far this postseason after scoring 14 goals and 31 points in 74 regular season contests.
Minor NHL Transactions
In some minor NHL news Thursday:
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed Juuso Riikola. The 25-year-old defender was set to be a restricted free agent but will stick with the team on a one-year, one-way contract worth $850,000 for the 2019-20 season.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have signed Eetu Luostarinen to a three-year entry-level contract. The 20-year-old forward was taken 42nd overall in 2017 and has spent the last few years playing in Finland. His stock has significantly increased since being drafted.
- The Minnesota Wild have acquired the rights of defender Fedor Gordeev from the Toronto Maple Leafs. They also agreed to terms on a contract with him. Gordeev was taken in the fifth-round of the 2017 NHL Entry-Draft and his exclusive rights were set to expire on June 1. If the Wild were unable to sign him, he would have been eligible to re-enter the NHL Draft. Because they did sign him, though, the Maple Leafs will receive a seventh-round draft pick.
