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Snapshots: Prust, Lindbohm, Pastrnak

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News and notes from around the NHL this afternoon:

  • Brandon Prust is close—but not final—on a deal to play in the DEL in Germany this year, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Prust’s agent Claude Lemieux says that Prust is waiting on a potential deal from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Le Journal de Montreal first broke the story (link in French) that Prust had a deal lined up but Prust is still angling for one last shot at an AHL position. Prust signed a PTO with the Toronto this preseason but failed to make the cut.
  • The St. Louis Blues have reassigned forward Petteri Lindbohm to the AHL Chicago Wolves today. He did not impress in his five-game stint with the club, averaging 12 minutes a night and failing to register a point. The Finnish defenseman was looking to make the next step in his young career, but he’ll have to refine his game a bit more in the AHL.
  • The Boston Bruins announced that forward David Pastrnak will return tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Pastrnak missed the last three games with an upper body injury, but still leads the Bruins with 10 goals. He has 10G and 4A in 14 games so far this season. Pastrnak is on the final year of his ELC and will see a significant raise on an RFA deal next year if he maintains his production.

Waiver Wire: McKegg, Carle, And Bass Clear

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Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that all three waiver additions yesterday—Florida’s Greg McKegg and Nashville’s Cody Bass and Matt Carle—cleared today at noon. The Panthers confirmed today that McKegg has been reassigned to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.

McKegg has struggled with the Panthers so far this year with only two assists in 19 games. The writing was on the wall after Coach Gerard Gallant reduced McKegg’s playing time to sub-ten minutes for the last two games.

The Predator’s Cody Bass and Matt Carle haven’t fared much better. Bass is pointless so far this year, and played less than five minutes in his last game on November 19th against the St. Louis Blues. Matt Carle garnered an assist in six games with the Predators this season, but hasn’t impressed on the blueline.

Predators Recall Juuse Saros

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The Nashville Predators have recalled goaltending prospect Juuse Saros from the AHL Milwaukee Admirals today, reports Adam Vingan of the Tennessean. Current backup Marek Mazanec is reassigned to the AHL.

Saros forced the Predators’ hand after dominating in the AHL. His .949 SV% and 1.59 GAA is second amongst all goaltenders. He won his sixth straight start last night against the Grand Rapids Griffins, and is now 9-1-0 overall.

Marazec, on the other hand, has not fared so well. In three games for the Predators he’s posted a dreadful .809 SV% and a 5.44 GAA. His AHL stats are slightly better as he earned a .849 Sv% and a 3.90 GAA in his two games in Milwaukee.

Snapshots: Senators, Bruins

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled defenseman Fredrik Claesson from Binghamton ahead of tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, reports Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. The stay-at-home defenseman has one assist in nine games with Binghamton this season, and zero points in his six games with Ottawa. Claesson’s recall initially pointed to Sens defenseman Dion Phaneuf not playing tonight, but Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun expects the Phaneuf to play after he left Ottawa’s optional skate early.
  • Continuing with the Senators, the Ottawa Citizen’s Don Butler reports that owner Eugene Melnyk’s development group RendezVous LeBreton can now negotiate with the National Capital Commission’s board on placing an arena in downtown Ottawa. The Commission was considering Melnyk’s bid alongside a competing bid from Decore Canderel DLS.  Melnyk’s venture plans to create an arena, practice center, and sports and recreation community center in the heart of downtown Ottawa on 21 hectares. The Senators currently play in Kanata, Ontario, which is about a thirty minute drive without traffic from the city center.
  • Staying with the Senators, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that forward Bobby Ryan will return to the lineup tonight. Ryan missed the past two games with a severe bone bruise on his finger. The forward has struggled so far this season, scoring only 3G and 3A in 17 games. Garrioch expects Ryan to play on a line with Kyle Turris and Ryan Dzingel.
  • Boston Bruins backup goaltender Anton Khudobin may return from his conditioning stint with the Providence Bruins, reports Mark Divver. Khudobin did not travel with the AHL team to St. John’s today, which indicates that he might join Boston tonight against the Ottawa Senators. The goalie had a rough time in the AHL, posting a 3.49 GAA and a .874 SV% in three games.

Metro Division Snapshots: Raanta, Calvert, Capitals

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New York Rangers backup net minder Antti Raanta is 5 – 0 – 0 in six starts this season after besting the Penguins 5 – 2 Monday night and since joining the Blueshirts in 2015, the Finnish goalie 16 – 6 – 2 with a GAA of 2.20 and a Save % of 92.4%. While he isn’t a threat to the job of longtime Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist, his superb play at the bargain basement price of $1M this year and next does give the Blueshirts one of the best backup bargains in the league, writes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post.

Raanta was acquired from Chicago in the summer of 2015 in exchange for minor league forward Ryan Haggerty to replace Cam Talbot as Lundqvist’s understudy. He spent two seasons with the Blackhawks and saw action in 39 games. Raanta was originally inked by Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

Even though “King” Henrik is the unquestioned starter in New York, the plan is for the Rangers to limit his usage somewhat in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs. As such, Raanta is expected to see action in around 25 games this season. His stellar play means there is little to no drop off  from Lundqvist when Raanta is in goal.

Even though Raanta is under contract for one more season, it’s quite possible he won’t be with the Rangers beyond the 2016-17 campaign. With the Rangers required to protect Lundqvist in the expansion draft, the new Vegas Golden Knights franchise will have the option of selecting the 27-year-old Raanta. At the very least he would be an excellent #2 goalie at an inexpensive price for the Golden Knights in their inaugural season.

More from the Metro Division:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced via their official Twitter account that Matt Calvert would miss tonight’s game against Calgary with an upper-body-injury. To take his place the team recalled forward Markus Hannikainen from Cleveland of the AHL. Calvert, who was hit by a shot in a recent game against the Rangers which ultimately required 36 stitches to his forehead, has two goals in 17 games this season. Hannikainen, 23, made his NHL debut tonight and was held scoreless in 9:47 of ice itme. He has five goals and eight points in 14 games for the Monsters.
  • With just more than $700K in salary cap space, the Washington Capitals have had to be creative managing their roster as injuries have begun to pile up, as Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post writes. After forward Paul Carey was reassigned to the AHL following Sunday’s game, the Caps were left with just 11 healthy forwards. Subsequently, reserve defenseman Nate Schmidt skated as a forward at practice. It’s an option head coach Barry Trotz may need to employ in an actual game should the situation warrant it. The piece gives an interesting insight into the complexities of roster management in the salary cap era. Every day the Capitals can avoid having to call up a minor league player such as Carey adds to the amount of salary cap space the team banks for use later in the campaign. While they may need to recall a player to play in a game, there is no sense carrying him on the roster during breaks in the schedule.

 

Beaulieu Out Of Hospital After Taking Puck To The Throat

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Montreal Canadiens blue liner Nathan Beaulieu was released from the hospital Wednesday after taking a puck to the throat area during the Habs 4 – 3 loss to Ottawa Tuesday, according to Arpon Basu of LHN.com. It’s unclear at this point how much time he will miss but Montreal head coach Michel Therrien did rule him out for Thursday’s home tilt against Carolina. Therrien also indicated it was unlikely Beaulieu would be in the lineup Saturday night.

Beaulieu has recorded six points – one goal and five assists – through 20 games to start the season while averaging better than 17 minutes per game. Now in his third full NHL campaign, Beaulieu has seen action in 171 games and tallied 38 points. He was Montreal’s first-round pick, selected 17th overall in 2011.

To take his spot, the Habs have called up Mark Barberio from St. John’s of the AHL. Barberio has yet to suit up in the NHL this season but has 14 points in 18 AHL contests so far this season. He also finished with 10 points in 30 games for the Habs last season.

The Canadiens are set to receive further blue line reinforcements in the form of Zach Redmond, who has been cleared to practice with the team. A broken foot has kept Redmond out of action all season. Redmond inked a two-year free agent contract with Montreal after spending the two previous seasons as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

Pacific Division Snapshots: Brown, Strome, Russell

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Dustin Brown spent eight seasons as the captain of the Los Angeles Kings, helping the team to two Stanley Cup championships during that time. He scored 54 points in 2011-12, the fifth consecutive campaign of at least 22 goals and 53 points, but since has seen his performance decline. Brown did tally 18 goals during the strike-shortened 2012-13 season but in the three full seasons since he’s averaged just 0.35 points-per-game. That performance regression in part prompted the Kings to remove the “C” from Brown’s sweater in order to give it to Anze Kopitar.

The Kings did look to move Brown this summer but with six seasons remaining on a contract that calls for an AAV of just shy of $6MM, there wasn’t much interest. Brown was critical of the decision, particularly in how the situation was handled, but the 13-year veteran has handled his business like a pro this season. In fact, as Josh Cooper of Yahoo writes, not having the responsibilities of the position any longer allows Brown to focus on playing hockey and his play has improved this season as a result.

“I’m not taking the game home with me, which in years past was a difficult thing not to do, partly because I … just as a competitor you want to take everything personally. Now I’m kind of detached a little bit from it, which is a good thing. So I get to come to work every day and do my job. It has been much easier to leave it here, which has been much healthier.”

Brown has six points in 20 games, a per-game average of 0.45. That prorates to a full, 82-game total of about 37 points. Brown has been part of an effective third line with Devin Setoguchi and Nic Dowd and for the first time in a long while he says he is enjoying the game:

“This is probably the first time I’ve had fun playing hockey in a couple of years. I know in saying that we play a game for a living. But I always say no matter if you’re playing a game or whatever you’re doing in life if you’re not having fun it’s tough to do.”

Even with the uptick in production it’s unlikely Brown will ever again be worth his cap charge. But the Kings must nonetheless be pleased to see even a moderate improvement from their former captain.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Dylan Strome has tons of skill and plenty of hockey instincts. But Arizona GM John Chayka and team bench boss Dave Tippett believe the one thing holding him back at this point in his young career is a lack of physical maturity, as Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports writes. Strome was recently returned to the Erie Otters of the OHL after a seven game spin at the NHL level. He tallied just a single assist and was a minus-5 while averaging 13:41 of ice time per game. Strome’s struggles represent one of the issues regarding Canadian junior players. His development won’t be helped by returning to the OHL as he’s simply too good for that level. But as we’ve seen, he isn’t physically ready for the challenges of the NHL and he can’t be sent to the AHL to play against other professionals due to the rules in place. However, as Morgan notes, Strome will be eligible to represent Canada at the upcoming Word Juniors, which as Chayka points out, will allow him to serve as a leader on the Canadian squad: “I think that’s important to be in Canada for him,” Chayka said. “He should be a big part of that team; a big part of that leadership group.”
  • Kris Russell has his critics as a player, particularly among the analytical community. Yet the Edmonton Oilers, who signed the veteran defender late in the offseason, are pleased with what he has brought to the table, as Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal writes. The numbers that matter most to the Oilers is the team’s won-loss record when he is in the lineup versus when he is out. Edmonton is 9 – 3 – 1 with Russell playing and just 2 – 5 – 0 when he does not play. While he isn’t putting up big counting numbers, in the opinion of bench boss Todd McLellan, Russell has helped add stability to a unit that has been below-average over the last several seasons: “I don’t think it’s coincidence. I think he does bring enough stability back there that he has an impact on the outcome of games.” Russell had to wait through the summer before landing a deal with Edmonton but if he continues to impress Oilers management, the team could look to lock up the 10-year vet before he hits the free agency next July.

Vegas Notes: Exempt List, Salary Retention, Minority Owners

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Earlier today, the full list of players who require protection from the expansion draft due to no-movement clauses was released, and it’s an interesting study to be sure. Out of the 66 names on the list, four teams are fully unhindered by the clauses. Calgary, San Jose, St. Louis and Washington are free to protect their full compliment of players, having not given out a single NMC that would fall under automatic protection. Even Brent Burns’ new mega-deal doesn’t contain the clause, even though he would already be an obvious protection candidate.

While some of the information may be news to fans, each individual franchise likely had a good understanding of who would be on this list and shouldn’t be shocked by the release today. That doesn’t stop the speculation however, that teams like the Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers will be looking to make a move to ensure they get something in return a young player instead of exposing him to the draft.

  • Alex Prewitt of SI gave some interesting info today about the possibility of salary retention on selected players. Though the new franchise will be able to include salary in pre and post draft trades like any other club, they will not be able to reach a salary retention agreement with any selected player. This likely could have been used as a loophole to make deals with the Vegas club, something that the NHL wants to stop as much as possible. This draft is supposed to be as above-board as possible, with the league even saying everything will have to “pass the smell test”.
  • Despite rumors circulating today that MLB free agent Jose Bautista and NFL star Rob Gronkowski were among those who held a minority stake in the Vegas hockey club, Prewitt reports that there is in fact no investors of any kind other than Bill Foley and the Maloof family. While Prewitt admits that there is a group of investors looking to form an LLC to invest in the Golden Knights, nothing has been submitted or approved by league offices, a required step for any investment.

Full List Of Mandatory-Protection Players In Expansion Draft

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Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has published the full list of players who, due to no-movement clauses in their current contracts, must be protected in the upcoming expansion draft for the new Vegas Golden Knights. These are players who will count against the protection limits should they choose not to waive their NMC rights prior to the draft.

Each team has the right to protect either:

A) Seven forwards, three defenders, one goaltender

or

B) Eight skaters, one goaltender

These players will count against those numbers, and as Johnston points out, there are some notable inclusions and omissions from this group. Players like Jordan Staal, Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan all had incorrect information spread about their contracts. The former two will now need protection, while the latter will not, due to his deal only having a no-movement to the minors clause.

The Chicago Blackhawks, with eight players listed, will have little flexibility at the draft, with only four forward spots (or one defenseman) left to use. Many others, according to Johnston, including Toronto’s Nathan Horton, are likely to be made exempt if they are still on LTIR as the draft approaches.

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Bruins Notes: Chara, Pastrnak, Miller

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The Boston Bruins are off to a solid 11-8-0 start to the year, and much of the success has to be attributed to the tight defensive hockey the team is playing. That might take a hit over the next two games, as the team has officially announced that Zdeno Chara will miss tomorrow’s game against the Ottawa Senators, and is questionable for Friday’s matchup. Without Chara, the Bruins’ and their 6th place ranking with 44 goals against is in jeopardy. Even at his advanced age (39), the Solvakian defender is a monster on the ice, limiting goal opportunities and dominating puck battles.

  • The team will get David Pastrnak back though, in a hope that his added offense will equal out the defensive loss. The Bruins’ leading goal scorer this season was out for two games this weekend before returning to practice today.  Skating alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, the former first-round pick has 10 goals in 14 games, on pace to shatter his career-high of 15. At just 20-years old Pastrnak looks like he’s developing into a top-line winger, capable of skating opposite Marchand for many years. Coach Claude Julien says he’s likely to play “unless there’s a setback tomorrow”.
  • Kevan Miller was also cleared to return to practice today, and took a regular turn alongside Joe Morrow among Boston’s defense pairings. While Julien wouldn’t say whether Miller would get back into the lineup, his return obviously lines up fairly well with Chara’s absence. “We’re going to have some decisions to make before tomorrow’s game” is all the coach would say. Miller has yet to suit up for a game this year after breaking his left hand and needing surgery prior to the season opener. The 29-year old played in 71 games for the club a season ago, notching 18 points and 53 penalty minutes.

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