NHL News & Notes: Pastrnak, Mazanec & More

In today’s News & Notes, David Pastrnak will be out for at least two weeks, the Vancouver Canucks have acquired Marek Mazanec and Brian Elliott has been loaned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on a conditioning stint.

Related: NHL News & Notes: Nate Thompson, Collin Delia & More

Pastrnak out at Least 2 Weeks

The Boston Bruins are dealing with another injury to a major piece of their lineup as Pastrnak suffered a thumb injury that will keep him out of action for at least two weeks. The 22-year-old winger underwent a successful procedure to repair the damages and the team will have a chance to re-evaluate him in two weeks time.

Bruins right wing David Pastrnak
Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports)

Pastrnak is one of the best young players in the NHL and he’s been imperative to the Bruins’ success this season. Not only has he scored a team-leading 31 goals and 66 points in just 56 games, but he’s also done so in a way that can only be described as clutch. The Bruins are one of the worst scoring teams in the NHL but have been salvaged by Pastrnak both at even strength and especially on the power play.

Mazanec Traded to Canucks

The Canucks have sent a seventh-round selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft to the New York Rangers to acquire Mazanec to help shore up their goaltending depth.

New York Rangers Marek Mazanec
New York Rangers goaltender Marek Mazanec (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Bill Kostroun)

Desperate times called for desperate measures and the Canucks were forced to make a move at goaltender after their latest injury to Thatcher Demko left them scrambling. Though the injury isn’t a long-term one and should see Demko back in the lineup in short order, the team was forced to use Michael DiPietro as an emergency call-up from the OHL as their backup in the interim.

The Canucks were likely hoping to reclaim Mike McKenna from the Philadelphia  Flyers after the 35-year-old was claimed by Philadelphia earlier this season. The Canucks simply weren’t willing to wait any longer, evidently, and opted to make this trade instead.

The 27-year-old Mazanec has played in 20 AHL games this season with the Hartford Wolf Pack and has gone 7-8-3 with a 3.01 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.

Elliott Loaned to AHL on Conditioning Stint

The Flyers assigned Elliott to the AHL on Tuesday. Unlike a usual conditioning stint, the Flyers are using a “long-term injury” conditioning loan which will allow for Elliott to stay on the injured reserve throughout the stint (buying the Flyers some time as their roster is already at 23 players). This type of conditioning loan lasts either six days or three games (whichever is longer), according to Dave Isaac.

Brian Elliott
Brian Elliott (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

“I’m confident enough that I could step in,” Elliott said this past Friday. “With how the team is rolling, it would be nice to get a feel for games. I definitely want to be sure to take the necessary precautions to be ready and eventually help the team win some games down the stretch here.”

The Flyers will likely place McKenna on waivers when Elliott is eligible to return to action and it’ll be interesting to see if any team (especially the Canucks) puts in a claim to acquire him.

Elliott has gone 6-7-0 this season with a 2.59 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 14 games.