In today';s News & Notes, Sean Couturier will be out of commission for a few
weeks with an MCL injury, Brady Tkachuk has picked his NHL number with the
Ottawa Senators and John Shannon is reporting that there is no truth to the
Vancouver Canucks being involved in the Erik Karlsson trade saga.Couturier Out
4-6 Weeks

The Philadelphia Flyers got some bad news when they learned that Couturier
would be missing some time due to an MCL injury. The team stated that the
injury occurred on Aug. 10 in a recreational game in Couturier';s home Province
 of Quebec. The team also said that this wasn';t a "re-injury" of the injury
Couturier suffered in the postseason against Pittsburgh in 2018.Sean Couturier
(Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)

When speaking to the media to provide an update about the injury, Flyers';
general manager Ron Hextall had the following to say:

"We anticipate Sean participating partially at the start of training camp and
then approximately halfway through camp we believe he';ll be full-go and
participating in the last number of preseason games."

Hextall would also mention that based on the current injury timeline, Couturier
 should be back in time to play in some of the later preseason games.

"Right now we anticipate him participating in some drills at the beginning of
training camp, but not all... our timeline right now is that he would
participate in the back end of the preseason games. Somewhere in the 2, 3, 4,
not the first four [games]."Tkachuk Chooses Jersey Number

Tkachuk will be following in his father';s footsteps, wearing No. 7 at the NHL
level as a member of the Senators. Tkachuk wore No. 27 during his time at
Boston University but has donned his father';s number at the international
level while competing with the United States at the World Junior Championships.

He';ll be the 12th player in Senators'; history to wear No. 7 with the most
recent player to do so being Kyle Turris from 2012 until his trade in
2017.Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, 2018 NHL Draft, Dallas, TX, June 22, 2018
(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Tkachuk signed his entry-level contract with the Senators on Aug. 13 and will
compete for a job on the team';s NHL roster out of training camp. If the team
determines that he isn';t ready to contribute in 2018-19 then he';ll ultimately
 be sent to the OHL where he';ll play with the London Knights.Related: NHL News
 & Notes: Desharnais, Fiddler, Randy Lee & More

The competition in the OHL won';t be as good as it would be in the NCAA given
the age-group he';ll be playing against but rushing him to the NHL if he isn';t
 ready might be even worse for his long-term development. Only time will tell
what the team';s decision is with him but when the time comes that he does
become a full-time NHL player, he';ll likely resemble his father - number and
all.Canucks Shoot Down Karlsson Reports

When Elliotte Friedman reported that trade discussions involving Karlsson had
picked up pace around the NHL and mentioned that there was a belief that the
Canucks were throwing their name into the hat, there was a collective afternoon
 of excitement. With major hockey news at a stand-still, as is the norm around
this time of year, news about one of hockey';s best players swirling in the
trade market picked up more traction than it may have at a busier time of
year.Erik Karlsson #65, Ottawa Senators - February 3, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The
Hockey Writers)

Just a few hours after the original tweet by Friedman was made, Shannon
mentioned that he briefly spoke with Canucks'; general manager Jim Benning who
said that there was no truth to the Canucks being involved in the conversation.

At this point in the offseason, it';s hard to know what';s real and what isn';t
 real. What is clear, though, is that all 30 teams should be making a call to
Ottawa to at least inquire about the price of Karlsson. How far those
discussions will go will vary by team but when a player of his caliber becomes
available, general managers have to pick up the phone.

The post NHL News & Notes: Couturier, Tkachuk & More appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.

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