NHL: Nick Suzuki banged up for Habs, Knights’ Nolan Patrick out for season, and Flyers’ Ryan Ellis unlikely
The Daily Goal Horn
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New Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki will be sidelined two weeks with a lower-body injury, the team announced Thursday.
Suzuki, 23, was named the youngest captain in franchise history on Sept. 12. The forward is entering the first season of an eight-year, $63 million contract extension he signed in October 2021.
Nick Suzuki out two weeks
Suzuki was originally drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights before being sent to the Habs in the Max Pacioretty trade in 2017. When he was first eligible for an extension, Montreal wasted little time getting a contract done. Especially after losing Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a Hurricanes’ offer sheet. In October of 2021, they inked him to a eight-year extension worth $63 million ($7.875M AAV).
“I love the city of Montreal,” he said after signing. “I love being a Canadien, and to do that for hopefully the next nine years is something I’m really looking forward to. It’s huge for me and my family and we’re really happy that it all worked out.”
Suzuki recorded career-high totals in goals (21), assists (40) and points (61) while playing in all 82 games last season.
He has totaled 143 points (49 goals, 94 assists) in 209 career games since making his NHL debut on Oct. 3, 2019.
Defenseman Joel Edmundson is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, while forwards Josh Anderson (upper body) and Jake Evans (upper body) are considered day-to-day by the team.
Nolan Patrick out for the season
Vegas Golden Knights forward Nolan Patrick will not play during the upcoming 2022-23 season, general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced on Thursday.
Patrick, 24, is nursing an upper-body injury. He has been plagued by both injuries and migraines since entering the NHL as the second overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers traded Patrick to the Golden Knights in July 2021 in exchange for fellow forward Cody Glass.
Patrick collected two goals and five assists in 25 games with Vegas last season. He has totaled 77 points (32 goals, 45 assists) in 222 career games with the Flyers and Golden Knights.
Ryan Ellis unlikely to play this season
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ryan Ellis, limited to just four games last season, is unlikely to play in 2022-23.
General manager Chuck Fletcher, talking to reporters on the opening day of training camp on Thursday, detailed the injury plaguing Ellis as one involving his hip, psoas and adductor and said it could be career-threatening.
The psoas are large muscles that run from the lumbar spine through the groin.
The team hadn’t revealed much about Ellis’ injuries since he last played on Nov. 13.
Ellis, 31, was the No. 11 overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2009 draft. The Flyers acquired him in a three-team trade involving the Predators and Vegas Golden Knights on July 17, 2021.
In his four games in a Flyers uniform, he had one goal and four assists.
In 562 games with Nashville (2011-21), Ellis tallied 270 points (75 goals, 195 assists), with 16 game-winning goals and a plus-114 rating.
In the offseason, the Flyers acquired defenseman Tony DeAngelo from the Carolina Hurricanes signed veteran Justin Braun to add depth at the position.
–Field Level Media