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Chicago Blackhawks Place Jan Rutta On Waivers

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Friday: Rutta has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The defenseman has been assigned to the Rockford IceHogs, meaning $1.025MM of his cap hit will be buried. The remaining $1.225MM will continue to be applied to Chicago’s salary cap.

Thursday: The Chicago Blackhawks were apparently unable to find a trade partner that wanted to take one of their depth defensemen, and have now risked one to waivers. The team has placed Jan Rutta on waivers today, exposing the 28-year old to the entire league.

Rutta was originally signed out of the Czech Republic in 2017, and did well enough in a part-time role for the Blackhawks that they decided to offer him an extension this past March. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and it took a one-year $2.25MM contract to convince him otherwise. That deal also includes a European Assignment Clause, which is a very important part of today’s transactions. If Rutta clears waivers and the Blackhawks attempt to assign him to the minor leagues, there’s a chance he could force them to send him to Europe instead.

The idea of him getting claimed might also be unlikely at this point. Though the right-handed defenseman has shown he’s capable of playing at an NHL level, his attributed cap hit may end up scaring off any team that shows interest. It’s likely what kept the Blackhawks from trading Rutta or Brandon Manning in the first place, given the uncertainty around whether they can actually help a team on a full-time basis. Contenders like Toronto, Boston and Edmonton could have use for this type of player, but might not want to commit all $2.25MM to what is essentially a lottery ticket at this point.

Chicago meanwhile finally ended an eight-game losing streak with a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, and had Carl Dahlstrom make an immediate impact in his first game this season. The 23-year old played 22:34 in the game, only trailing Duncan Keith and the recently returned Connor Murphy in minutes from the blue line. The emergence of Dahlstrom and fellow youngster Henri Jokiharju have made Manning and Rutta expendable, at least as the team looks to try and rebuild their back end on the fly.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mike Green Out Three To Five Weeks

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The Detroit Red Wings are falling out of the playoff race in the Atlantic Division, and will now be without one of their best defensemen for quite some time. Mike Green will be out three to five weeks with a lower-body injury according to head coach Jeff Blashill, who spoke with reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia today. Filip Hronek has been recalled to fill Green’s spot on the roster.

Minor Transactions: 12/14/18

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The Tampa Bay Lightning showed the NHL just how dangerous they can be now that Andrei Vasilevskiy is back on the ice, as the goaltender was peppered by the Toronto Maple Leafs but found a way to keep nearly every puck out of the net. The Lightning now have an eight-point lead on the second place Maple Leafs, and are easily pacing the NHL. They’ll be off as 16 teams battle tonight, and we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves made throughout the day.

  • Sami Niku has been sent back to the AHL by the Winnipeg Jets, as Joe Morrow closes in on his return. The 22-year old Niku played in five games for the Jets but wasn’t able to lock down a full-time role just yet. After taking home Defenseman of the Year honors in the AHL last season, there’s no doubt that Niku will be back in the NHL at some point.
  • With Mike Smith suffering a minor injury, the Calgary Flames have recalled goaltender Jon Gillies from the AHL. Smith is listed as day-to-day, meaning David Rittich will get the lion’s share of the work for the next little while. Gillies meanwhile has not played well for the Stockton Heat this season, something that can’t inspire a ton of confidence in Flames fans moving forward. The team has sent Ryan Lomberg to the AHL to make room for Gillies.

Team Canada Makes First World Junior Cuts

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With less than two weeks before the tournament begins in Vancouver, Team Canada’s World Junior team has made their first cuts of selection camp. The team surprisingly lost 5-3 at the hands of the USports All-Star team in an exhibition match yesterday, and decided to trim some of the fat from the large camp roster. Ty Dellandrea, Raphael Lavoie, Cameron Crotty and Calen Addison have all been sent back to their respective junior or college teams and will not be participating in the World Juniors this season.

For all four of these players, making the team was a long shot to begin with. Dellandrea may be the most well known of the bunch, given his 13th-overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft (Dallas), but that could change over the coming months. Lavoie, who turned 18 in September, has 31 points in 29 games for the Halifax Mooseheads and is a top eligible prospect for the 2019 draft. He could in fact climb all the way into the top ten with a good second half, given his all-around appeal. The 6’4″ forward can play the middle of the ice and is a good bet to be on the Canadian team next season.

Addison too could very well find himself on the team next season, given his outstanding production so far for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The puck-moving defenseman is stuck behind several similar players on Canada’s radar, but should get a chance when those like Evan Bouchard move on next time around. Addison has 31 points in 30 games this season and already looks like a steal by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the 2018 draft.

Carolina Hurricanes Had Trade Fall Through At Last Minute

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The Carolina Hurricanes have been rumored to be very interested in adding a scoring forward this season, and they may have almost gotten their wish last week. On the latest edition of Insider Trading for TSN, Pierre LeBrun reports that a deal fell through at the last minute with a Western Conference team. LeBrun restates the Hurricanes’ interest in a top-six forward and while it sounds like William Nylander is off the table after signing his long deal, apparently they have interest in Kasperi Kapanen of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Speculation can run wild on who the Hurricanes were dealing with in the West, but the simple fact is that Carolina is urgently looking to get some more firepower up front. With another goal tonight for the Maple Leafs, Kapanen continues to impress in an elevated position next to Auston Matthews and is setting himself up for a nice contract negotiation of his own in the offseason. The 22-year old forward had struggled to find any real consistency at the NHL level for the first few years of his career, but had 21 points in 31 games coming into tonight’s action and is finally fulfilling the potential that made him a first-round pick. The Maple Leafs of course have other concerns in the summer months, given that Matthews and Mitch Marner are also restricted free agents.

Even if Kapanen is not available—which LeBrun makes no real assertion on one way or the other—there will be plenty of offense to go around as the trade deadline nears later this season. Another name mentioned in the segment by insider Bob McKenzie, though not in specific reference to Carolina is Jeff Carter, who still has three years left on his contract after 2018-19 but isn’t actually owed much salary. That makes him a pretty attractive trade target if teams are willing to sacrifice some young assets for the rebuild in Los Angeles, though nothing seems imminent there either.

One has to wonder whether Carolina will find what they’re looking for soon, given the urgency the front office is likely feeling. The team entered play tonight at 13-12-4 but had scored just 72 goals in those 29 games. That put them ahead of only the Kings, a place you don’t want to be if you’re trying to compete for a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Florida Panthers.  Click here for the other articles in this series. 

What are the Wild most thankful for?

A resurgent season from winger Zach Parise.  Injuries limited him to just 42 games last season and in each of the years before that, he missed at least a dozen contests in each of them.  The injuries had been taking their toll and accordingly, his point-per-game average had dropped in each of the last three seasons.  For someone with seven years left on his contract heading into this one (with an AAV of just over $7.5MM), this was cause for concern.

Fortunately for Minnesota, the 34-year-old is off to his best start in years.  He leads the team in goals (14) and sits second in points (27); his point-per-game mark (0.93) is his best since the 2009-10 season in New Jersey.  It’s far too early to project this as a sign of things to come over the remaining life of his contract but for now, the team is certainly thankful that their top-paid forward is actually producing like one which is something that simply hasn’t happened in recent years.

Who are the Wild most thankful for?

Some eyebrows were raised this summer when Minnesota gave defenseman Mathew Dumba a five-year, $30MM contract last summer but it’s already looking to be quite the bargain.  The 24-year-old leads all NHL blueliners in goals (12) and is just two off of his career high from last season.  He also is logging nearly 24 minutes a night (a career high) and has really emerged as a legitimate top pairing defender for the price of a second pairing player.  It wasn’t that long ago that there were questions as to whether or not he’d be a part of their future.  Now, Dumba is a key fixture for the long haul at a really nice price point.

What would the Wild be even more thankful for?

Production from core forwards Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle.  Niederreiter looked like he was emerging as a high-end forward two years ago when he picked up 57 points, earning himself a five-year contract in the process.  However, his offense dipped considerably last year and it’s down a tick again this season as he has scored just five times.  Meanwhile, Coyle’s name has come up in trade speculation once again and for good reason.  He has the skillset to be an impact player but he simply isn’t producing as he’s sitting on five goals again.  These two are expected to be consistent secondary scorers for the Wild and the only thing they’ve been consistent at so far this season is being consistently inconsistent.

What should be on the Wild’s Holiday Wish List?

Nate Prosser’s hold on a roster spot has always been tenuous and it’s clear the team doesn’t have a lot of faith in him (he has been healthy all year but has played just twice) so adding some defensive depth that Bruce Boudreau would be comfortable using when injuries arise would be useful.  With their secondary scorers not producing enough, adding a top-six winger would also go a long way towards helping them.  That might be enough to help spark Niederreiter and Coyle (if they’re not part of the return going the other way).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Gagner, Russell, Rieder, Sharks

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Canucks center Sam Gagner is known to be available after he was sent back to the AHL earlier this month.  In an appearance on TSN 1040 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested that Ottawa could make sense as a fit for the 29-year-old given their rash of injuries up front.  He also added that it would take them retaining on his $3.15MM per year (through 2019-20) to get something done.  Gagner hasn’t fared too poorly in his NHL action this season but clearly, Vancouver is prioritizing defensive play with their forwards at the bottom of the lineup which has left him on the outside looking in.  If the Sens don’t have much interest, it’s likely that Vancouver will have to wait until some other teams get hit with injuries and look to make an opportunistic deal.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • The Oilers announced that they have placed defenseman Kris Russell on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. With fellow blueliner Oscar Klefbom being placed on IR yesterday, Edmonton’s defensive depth is starting to run thin.  On the flip side, they are getting a regular back in Tobias Rieder, who was activated to take Russell’s spot on the roster.  The winger missed the last dozen games with an upper-body issue and is slated to suit up on their fourth line tonight against Winnipeg.
  • The recent emergence of defenseman Radim Simek could make it easier for the Sharks to move one of Tim Heed or Joakim Ryan, suggests Paul Gackle of The Mercury News. The 26-year-old rookie has played in the last five games and has fared well, picking up a pair of points while averaging 15:34 per night and in the process, he has given San Jose another third pairing option for their back end.  The team is currently carrying eight blueliners and could perhaps flip some of that extra depth for some desired help down the middle.  Both Heed (27) and Ryan (25) are on expiring contracts at the league minimum $650K with Ryan still being eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

Philadelphia Flyers Recall Alex Lyon

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The Philadelphia Flyers have released updates on three different goaltenders in the organization. Michal Neuvirth has left the team to join his wife who is expecting, Brian Elliott has returned to Philadelphia for a medical appointment, and Alex Lyon has joined the team for the interim. Lyon will pair with Anthony Stolarz at the NHL level for the time being, something the two have done in the minor leagues at times this season.

Seeing Neuvirth and Elliott leave the team at one point might have been tough to swallow, but at this point it might not make much of a difference. Stolarz was the starter last night but allowed the Calgary Flames to make a dramatic comeback that included two goals with their net empty, and has posted just an .889 save percentage on the season. Amazingly, that puts Stolarz ahead of three of the other goaltenders that have suited up for Philadelphia this year, including Neuvirth and Lyon. As the team waits on Elliott—the only one with even respectable numbers—to return from injury they have to hope that someone can step up and carry the load.

That appeared to be Stolarz, who despite the breakdown last night has actually played well in his short stint, but perhaps it could be Lyon instead. The 26-year old has stabilized his season at the minor league level and seems just as likely as any to give the team average goaltending. That’s all anyone in Philadelphia can hope for right now as they try to climb out of a dreadful start to the season.

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