Double Switch: Islanders move de Haan to IR, Hickey nears return

The Islanders placed defenseman Calvin de Haan on injured reserve with an upper body injury today, while also removing fellow blueliner Thomas Hickey from IR.

The move isn’t retroactive to Saturday, so it looks like de Haan will miss all three of the team’s games this week.

Update: Looks like it will be much longer than a week. Arthur Staple reports that it’s a shoulder injury that could have de Haan out for the rest of the regular season, depending on surgery.

De Haan was placed on injured reserve Monday after an MRI exam while the team practiced in advance of Tuesday’s game against the Red Wings at Barclays Center. No determination has been made on whether de Haan will need surgery, which would put him out until at least the playoffs.

The 2009 first round pick has a history of shoulder injuries, which plagued him throughout his development years with the Islanders. He’s overcome them to become one of the team’s more reliable defenders.

De Haan appeared to be hurt in overtime, just before Jordan Eberle scored the winner on Saturday against the Kings. In the replay below, starting around the 1:20 mark, de Haan slides to break up a 2-on-1 chance for Los Angeles and might have taken a stick blade in the face. While he had trouble getting back to the bench, the puck went wide of the net and was picked up by Mathew Barzal, who set up Eberle for the sweet, sweet winner.

In 33 games this season, the steady Carp Lad is averaging 19 minutes a game and has one goal and 11 assists. His most frequent partners have been younger guys Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield. No matter who he’s been with, de Haan’s got good defensive numbers, according to HockeyViz.com.

Hickey’s missed the last few games, having been put on the IR on the 10th (retro to the 9th). He’s been healthy scratched a few times this season as Doug Weight’s tried to rotate his eight defenseman, but the veteran should get regular work again. Like de Haan, Hickey doesn’t wow you with flashy plays, but he makes the right one more often than not.

(also, judging by this chart, please don’t play Seidenberg anymore, Doug. Thanks.)

As for when Hickey will actually play, well we don’t know exactly. Notice he was “removed” from IR rather than “activated.”

Both Devon Toews and Sebastian Aho have 19 points on the season (eight goals for Aho, seven for Toews), which is among the leaders in the AHL for defenseman scoring. Doesn’t sound like either will get a call-up, but you never know. Toews, who was an All Star last season, seems like he deserves a look.

But if Hickey can play starting tomorrow against Detroit, that gives Weight six D to go with and still keep Seidenberg on the sidelines.

It stinks that de Haan will be out for a while, but that means more time on Twitter for him.

And hey, Jaro, take it easy on your own guys, okay?