Jets forward Ehlers to miss start of Stanley Cup playoffs, out week to week

Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers will miss the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a right foot injury.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel said Tuesday that Ehlers is out week to week after re-aggravating an existing injury.

Ehlers collided with an official in a game against Chicago on Saturday and had to be helped off the ice.

The 29-year-old has 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games this season.

The Jets might be getting some reinforcements soon. Forward Gabe Vilardi skated Tuesday and is considered day-to-day. He hasn't played since March 23 with an upper-body injury.

The Jets, who won their first Presidents' Trophy last week after clinching the league's best regular-season record, are still waiting to learn their first-round playoff opponent.

Nurse disciplined for cross-check

Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse has been suspended by the NHL for one game, without pay, for cross-checking forward Quinton Byfield of the Los Angeles Kings during Sunday's game in the Alberta capital.

The league's department of player safety announced the penalty on Tuesday night.

The incident occurred at 14:36 of the second period. Nurse was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking. Nurse will miss the Oilers' final regular-season game on Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Nurse will forfeit $48,177.08 US. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 14:36 of the second period. Nurse was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking.

Byfield left the game with what the Kings called an upper-body injury and did not return. Head coach Jim Hiller had no update on the 22-year-old's condition. Byfield also did not play Tuesday night at Seattle.

In a post-whistle scrum late in the second period, Nurse put Byfield in a head lock, took him down and whacked him with his stick in the back of the helmet. Officials ejected him after video review.

This is Nurse's third suspension for an on-ice incident and fourth overall. He got three games in 2016 for being the aggressor in a fight and one in 2022 for head-butting Kings centre Phillip Danault during the first round, as well as one in 2023 for instigating a fight in the final five minutes against Vegas during the second round.

Couture appeared in over 1,000 games

Logan Couture began dreaming of playing in the NHL as a three-year-old carrying around a stick nearly everywhere he went.

After playing 15 seasons and more than 1,000 games in the regular season and playoffs, Couture can no longer play hockey because of a debilitating injury that has sidelined him for nearly 15 months.

"My career of playing hockey has come to an end," Couture said Tuesday. "I'm not physically able to play anymore. It's tough. It sucks. But it is what it is. I loved and cherished every single moment that I got to play in this league. The NHL is everything that I thought it would be when I was a kid."

Couture's stellar career spent entirely with the San Jose Sharks came to a disappointing end as he has been unable even to skate January 2024. That led to the decision to officially stop trying to play in hopes that his physical condition can improve enough for him to play with his two young children.

The 36-year-old Couture has missed all but six games since the start of the 2023-24 season because of a debilitating condition called osteitis pubis, or inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones.

Couture last played a game in the NHL on Jan. 31, 2024, and said he never got close to getting back on the ice with his teammates.

"The mental side of it is tough," he said. "It's similar to when you lose in the playoffs. It's like you run into a brick wall and the season ends and then you don't know what to do."

Couture's career featured many high moments from a player known as one of the most clutch performers, especially in the post-season when he came close to carrying the Sharks to an elusive Stanley Cup title.

General manager Mike Grier called Couture "one of the greatest players" in Sharks history.

Couture has two years remaining on the eight-year, $64 million contract he signed in July 2018, and is owed $13 million in salary over the next two seasons. Couture will not officially retire and continue to get paid, while counting $8 million on San Jose's salary cap in each of those seasons.

Penguins' Letang recovering from heart surgery

Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang's season is over.

The 19-year veteran will miss Pittsburgh's finale against Washington on Thursday night after undergoing a procedure to close a small hole in his heart.

The Penguins made the announcement on Wednesday. Letang did not participate in the team's practice on Tuesday for what head coach Mike Sullivan called a medical appointment.

Letang, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, has missed time earlier in his career due to strokes related to a hole in his heart.

The team said the expected timeline for Letang to make a full recovery is four to six weeks. Pittsburgh was eliminated from post-season contention earlier this month.

Letang, who is signed through the 2027-28 season, had nine goals and 30 points in 74 games for Pittsburgh this year, his lowest point total over a full season since 2009-10. The 37-year-old Letang also averaged a team-high 23 minutes 32 seconds of ice time.

Avs forward Landeskog nears return

Gabriel Landeskog has rejoined the Colorado Avalanche after taking part in a two-game minor-league rehab assignment.

The team said Tuesday the captain's conditioning loan to the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles was terminated. He played games for the Eagles on Friday and Saturday in the latest step toward a return from a knee injury that has led to two surgeries and caused him to miss the past three regular seasons.

Last weekend was the first time the 32-year-old Landeskog has played in a professional game since hoisting the Stanley Cup in late June 2022. It was a successful minor-league stint for Landeskog, too, filled with hard checks, tumbles to the ice, a scrum where he put a player in a headlock and even a goal.

He told reporters after Saturday's game his knee feels "really good."

"Obviously, I've been skating for a long time now, and I've been working on all nuances of skating," he added. "It's one thing to be on the ice and skate and do certain drills, but it's another one to do it in a game -- game speed and game intensity.

"I know I put the work in. I know I've put my time in and now this weekend, I've gotten a chance to just not put it to the test but take the next step and just trust my training -- trust where my knee's at, and it's been feeling really good."

The Swedish forward could be activated as soon as the end of the regular season to play this weekend in Game 1 of the Avalanche's first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.

His return is a major boost for Colorado, especially given the difficult path through the Western Conference.

"Not anywhere near where I want it to be," Landeskog said after his performance Saturday. "But I think it's a good step in the right direction."