Ice Chips: Avs' Bryam, Manson, Nichushkin not close to returning

Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.

Colorado Avalanche

Defencemen Bowen Byram, Josh Manson, and forward Valeri Nichushkin aren't close to returning, according to head coach Jared Bednar.

Byram, 21, hasn't played since Nov. 4 and was considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

The 6-foot-1 defenceman has two goals and five points in 10 games this season.

Mason, 31, missed the team's last 19 games with a lower-body injury he suffered during the Avalanche's 6-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 1.

The 6-foot-3 defenceman has two goals and six points in 21 games this season.

Nichushkin, 27, re-injured his surgically repaired foot on Dec. 23 that had already caused him to miss 17 games this season.

Since re-injuring his foot, Nichushkin has missed another eight games with the foot injury.

The 6-foot-4 winger has seven goals and 16 points in 15 games this season.

Additionally, Bednar added that forward Darren Helm will miss some time due to injury, while captain Gabriel Landeskog is not in Denver while recovering from off-season surgery.

Bednar did not disclose a timetable for Helm but did indicate that it is related to his abductor injury that kept him out the first 35 games of the season.

Helm did not register a point in five games this season.

Landeskog has yet to play this season while recovering from off-season knee surgery and was originally given a 12-week recovery period in October.

The 30-year-old registered 30 goals and 59 points last season and led his team to a Stanley Cup title last year.

Montreal Canadiens

Defenceman Mike Matheson returned to practice on Friday wearing a regular practice jersey but will not play this weekend, according to head coach Martin St. Louis..

Matheson, 28, has missed the team's last 10 games with a lower-body injury and and being in a regular practice sweater suggests that he is cleared for contact.

The 6-foot-2 defenceman has a goal and five points in only 10 games this season due to injuries.

Matheson was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with a 2023 fourth-round draft pick, in exchange for defenceman Jeff Petry and forward Ryan Poehling in the offseason.

Drafted 23rd overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2012 NHL Draft, Matheson has 50 goals and 144 points in 427 games split between the Panthers, Penguins, and Canadiens.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins returned to practice on Friday after missing time due to an undisclosed illness, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda.

Merzlikins, 28, missed Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes due to a lingering illness and is considered to be day-to-day.

The Riga, Latvia native has a 4-11-0 record with an .865 save percentage and 4.62 goals against average this season and has lost his last four games giving up a combined 16 goals.

Drafted 76th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2014 NHL Draft, Merzlikins has a career 52-55-20 record with a .907 save percentage and 3.08 goals-against average.

The Blue Jackets assigned goaltender Jet Greaves to the AHL's Cleveland Monsters on Friday.

Greaves, 21, was recalled on an emergency basis on Thursday after Merzlikins was unavailable to the team due to an illness.

The 6-foot netminder has a 6-6-2 record with an .885 save percentage and 3.69 goals-against average with the Monsters this season.

Greaves was signed as an undrafted free agent in February of 2022.

The Blue Jackets assigned winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to the Monsters on Friday.

Fix-Wolansky, 23, appeared in four games with the Blue Jackets this season but did not record a point.

The 5-foot-7 winger has 15 goals and 34 poitns in 26 games with the Monsters this season.

Fix-Wolansky was drafted 204th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2018 NHL Draft and has a goal and two points in 10 career games.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres recalled forward Jack Quinn from the AHL's Rochester Americans and assigned forward Peyton Krebs to the Americans on Friday.

Quinn, 21, was assigned to the Americans on Thursday to make room on the roster for goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who gave up three goals in a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

The 6-foot-1 winger has six goals and 17 points in 33 games this season and hasn't recorded a point in his last nine games.

Drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in the 2020 NHL Draft, Quinn has seven goals and 19 points in 35 career games.

Krebs, 21, has three goals and nine points in 34 games this season and hasn't recorded a point in six of his last seven games.

The 6-foot forward was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights, along with forward Alex Tuch and two draft picks, in exchange for centre Jack Eichel on Nov. 4, 2021.

Drafted 17th overall by the Golden Knights in the 2019 NHL Draft, Krebs has 10 goals and 32 points in 95 games split between the Golden Knights and Sabres.

Forwards Zemgus Girgensons and Tuch did not practice on Friday, according to Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald.

Girgensons, 29, is out with a non-COVID related illness and will not travel with the team for their game against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, according to head coach Don Granato.

The Riga, Latvia native has four goals and 10 points in 39 games this season.

Drafted 14th overall by the Sabres in the 2012 NHL Draft, Girgensons has 75 goals and 166 points in 584 career games.

Tuch, 26, did not skate due to a scheduled maintenance day.

The 6-foot-4 forward has 20 goals and 45 points in 40 games this season.

Drafted 18th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 NHL Draft, Tuch has 93 goals and 222 points in 345 games split between the Wild, Golden Knights, and Sabres.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets recalled forward Jansen Harkins from the AHL's Manitoba Moose on an emergency basis and assigned defenceman Ville Heinola to the Moose.

Harkins, 25, has three goals and five points in 22 games with the Jets this season.

The 6-foot-1 forward also has seven goals and 12 points in nine games with the Moose this season.

Harkins was drafted 47th overall by the Jets in the 2015 NHL Draft and has 13 goals and 27 points in 154 career games.

Heinola, 21, registered an assist in eight games with the Jets this year.

The 5-foot-11 defenceman also has 10 assists in 13 games with the Moose this season.

Heinola was drafted 20th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and has a goal and 11 points in 33 career games.

Calgary Flames

The Flames assigned forward Radim Zohorna to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers on Friday.

Zohorna, 26, appeared in eight games with the Flames this season without recording a point.

The 6-foot-6 winger also has five goals and 16 points in 20 games with the Wranglers this season.

Zohorna was acquired by the Flames prior to the start of the regular season after claiming him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Originally signed by the Penguins from Czechia in April of 2020, Zohorna has four goals and 10 points in 33 career games split between the Penguins and Flames.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Goaltender Dustin Tokarski will make his first start of the season on Friday against the Winnipeg Jets, according to head coach Mike Sullivan.

Tokarski, 33, made his first appearance in the Penguins 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in relief of Casey DeSmith after he gave up three goals in just over seven minutes.

The 6-foot netminder was recalled from the AHL's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins on Jan. 3 after Tristan Jarry was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.

Tokarski has a 8-6-5 record with a .926 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average in Wilkes-Barre Scranton this season.

Drafted 122nd overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2008 NHL Draft, Tokarski has a 23-32-12 record with a .902 save percentage and 3.11 goals-against average split between the Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, and Penguins.

The Penguins recalled defenceman Mark Friedman from Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Friday.

Friedman, 27, appeared in three games with Pittsburgh this season but did not record a point.

The 5-foot-11 defenceman has a goal and five points in 19 games in the AHL this season.

Drafted 86th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2014 NHL Draft, Friedman has three goals and nine points in 45 career games split between the Flyers and Penguins.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues assigned defenceman Dmitri Samorukov to the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday.

Samorukov, 23, has two goals and eight points in 34 games with the Thunderbirds this season.

The 6-foot-3 defenceman was acquired by the Blues on Oct. 9 from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Klim Kostin.

Samorukov was drafted 84th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft  by the Oilers and has only appeared in one game in his NHL career.

Detroit Red Wings

Defenceman Filip Hronek missed practice on Friday with an upper-body injury, according to team reporter Daniella Bruce.

Hronek, 25, is considered day-to-day by head coach Derek Lalonde and the team hopes he will be ready to play on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 6-foot right-handed defenceman played just under 19 minutes during the Red Wings' 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Hronek has seven goals and 29 points in 40 games this season.

Forward Filip Zadina is expected to be out around 7-10 days due to his lower-body injury, according to Lalonde

Zadina, 23, hasn't played since Nov. 5 after blocking a shot during a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders and was given a 6-to-8 week timeline for his return.

The 6-foot winger has not recorded a point in nine games this season.

Zadina was drafted sixth overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Draft and has 25 goals and 61 points in 169 career games.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks assigned forward Lukas Reichel to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs on Friday.

Reichel, 20, has a goal and three points in four games with the Blackhawks this season.

The 6-foot winger also has 14 goals and 36 points in 32 games with the IceHogs this season.

Reichel was drafted 17th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Draft and has a goal and four points in 15 career games.

Nashville Predators

The Predators assigned goaltender Yaroslav Askarov to the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals on Friday.

Askarov, 20, made his first career NHL start on Thursday in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

The 6-foot-4 netminder has a 13-6-4 record with a .905 save percentage and 2.66 goals-against average with the Admirals this season.

Askarov was drafted 11th overall by the Predators in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins assigned forward Joona Koppanen to the AHL's Providence Bruins on Friday.

Koppanen, 24, played in his first career NHL game on Thursday during the Bruins' 3-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken.

The 6-foot-5 forward has five goals and 19 points in 34 games in Providence this season.

Koppanen was drafted 135th overall by the Bruins in the 2016 NHL Draft.