Insider Trading: Leafs working through injuries before playoffs; What’s Price’s future?

TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston join host James Duthie to discuss a trio of injury updates for the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the playoffs, the future of Carey Price and when a location for the 2023 World Junior Championship will be selected.

Who will be available for the Leafs in the playoffs?

We’re less than a week from the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs but the Toronto Maple Leafs are going into the postseason with some lineup uncertainty. Here are a few injury updates on a trio of Toronto’s skaters.

Johnston: It’s a busy time right now. A lot of uncertainty. And I would caution you, don’t just pay attention to who’s playing games. That’s because Jake Muzzin did return to the Maple Leafs’ lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee we’ll see him back for the playoffs. Muzzin has missed the past six games, he’s been dealing with an undisclosed upper-body issue and he wants to know if he feels comfortable. If he can engage in the battle and do everything that’s needed come playoff time. And so how he comes out of this game against Detroit and potentially Friday’s against Boston will dictate that. Whereas Michael Bunting won’t play these games. The Leafs announced that on Tuesday but there’s a lot of optimism in his circumstance that he will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs. As for Ondrej Kase, a little bit more unclear. No timeline on his return. But he would like to get himself in a position to play Game 1.  

What might Price’s future look like?

Despite his return at the tail end of this season, there are questions about Carey Price’s health heading into next season. Where might he be at next fall?

LeBrun: It certainly raised eyebrows when he decided to join the team to go to New York only to see the doctor that operated on his knee in the off-season. But I think that visit was always going to happen, why not do it when the team is in New York? He still plans on playing Friday in the season finale if he can. So we’ll see whether or not that happens. But I think it’s the bigger picture that the Montreal Canadiens and Carey Price have to figure out. Right now, they don’t have an answer to that. Carey Price wants to play next season, that’s the No. 1 thing you need to know. But he also has to get his knee in a place with an off-season workout regimen that gets him ready for that. And to say that’s 100 per cent, that he can get his knee there, I don’t think we can. So there is a bit of uncertainty even though he plans to return next season right now.

What’s the latest on Ovechkin?

Is the Capitals star going to be ready for the start of the playoffs after being injured Sunday night against the Maple Leafs.

LeBrun: Right now, the Caps are hopeful that he’ll be ready for Game 1 – they’re not ready to say that 100 per cent – but they do want to hold him out the entire rest of the regular season this week. Now, he may want to try and talk himself into one of those games. But the plan right now is to hold him off. They think he’ll be ready, but the plan is let’s convince him he doesn’t need to play this week. Even though the Caps could catch Pittsburgh in the standings.

Kuzmenko sweepstakes underway?

Despite political tensions with Russia, the NHL is not choosing to bar Russian players from signing in the NHL. Does this begin the courting of Andrei Kuzmenko?

Johnston: It begins, yes, in earnest right now. He’s ready to start having those conversations next week with NHL teams. And it’s thought that there will be 20 teams that will at least reach out with some degree of interest. He and his agent Dan Milstein will work through the options, try to whittle it down to maybe five or six, have follow-up conversations and eventually make a final decision. Kuzmenko was a point-per-game scorer in the KHL. Obviously there is that tremendous amount of interest and the one thing that he’s looking for? He wants to go somewhere he can play, where he’s going to have a role. He’s not fixated so much on a particular city.

Location for 2023 World Juniors

The IIHF officially withdrew the 2023 World Junior Championship from Russia on Tuesday. We know it will be in Edmonton in the summer and in Canada again at the end of the year, but we don’t know where yet. When might we know?

Johnston: We’re going to know soon. And, you know, there’s already been some talks it’s going to be Halifax and Moncton, that they’re the favourites among the five bids. Well Hockey Canada has not made a final decision. In fact, there is another call with the selection committee on Thursday where they’re going to continue to work through this. But this tournament coming up in December and January, it’s pretty soon, they’re trying to get to that conclusion very quickly.

Next steps in Kane’s grievance hearing?

The Evander Kane grievance hearing against the San Jose Sharks requires additional time. When might we see that resolved?

LeBrun: To be determined, still, which is interesting. Because they’ve known for a while that they needed a second day. But guess what? The playoffs are starting next week. They have to see how the Oilers schedule plays out. Do they lose in the first round? Do they lose in the second round? If they go deep, do they fly him in in between series? They need to get this done by free agency. They want a decision on this case before he’s a free agent and before the Sharks know what they have cap wise for free agency.