Minor Transactions: Stars, Sharks, Isles, Flyers
The Dallas Stars have recalled young center Jason Dickinson from the AHL’s Texas Stars, his first call-up of the season. A first-round pick of the Stars in 2013, Dickinson made his NHL debut late last season, scoring a goal in his very first game. However, Dickinson was then returned to the minors and did not play in the playoffs. Dickinson made his presence felt at the AHL level last season though, with 53 points in 73 games, including 22 goals. He already has ten points in 13 games to begin the new campaign. If the former captain of the OHL’s Guelph Storm had not begun the season on the injured reserve, many believed that he would have made the Stars roster out of camp, given the spot vacated by the injury to Mattias Janmark. Instead, Dickinson will now be looked upon to add a jolt of energy and offense to a Dallas team that has fallen short of expectations so far this season.
Other promotions and demotions:
- The San Jose Sharks have recalled forward Kevin Labanc from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda (a.k.a the next locker room down). Labanc played in his first NHL game earlier this season after being promoted to the Sharks in early November, but was sent back to the AHL squad just two days ago to get some play time over the weekend. Now, he’s back with the Sharks and looking to stick. In twelve NHL games in 2016-17, Labanc has two goals and two assists, while in eight AHL games he has an impressive 13 points while posting a +8. Labanc has been a revelation of sorts; he scored a combined 227 points in just 133 games with the OHL’s Barrie Colts in the two junior seasons after he was drafted by the Sharks in the sixth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The Sharks hope he continues to show his offensive upside at the highest level and earns a full-time role with the team this season.
- The New York Islanders gave defenseman Scott Mayfield an emergency promotion today, with Johnny Boychuk suffering from the flu. The 2011 second-round pick has played in a couple games already this season and will make his 14th career NHL start tonight against the cross-town rival New York Rangers. The shutdown defender will skate alongside Thomas Hickey in tonight’s contest.
- In a somewhat surprising move, the Philadelphia Flyers have demoted Scott Laughton again. The 2012 first-round pick has been a fixture in Philadelphia for a few years now, having made his NHL debut the year after he was drafted and then playing in 31 games in 2014-15 and 71 games in 2015-16. The 22-year-old forward plays a tough, two-way game, but that hasn’t been enough to earn him play time with the Flyers this year. Laughton was first sent down to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms in early November, but was recalled last week with the presumption that he would stick around. Instead, he’s headed back to the AHL, with Taylor Leier on his way up to take his place. Laughton has played in just two NHL games with season and has been held scoreless, but is a point-per-game player for the Phantoms with two goals and six assists in eight games. Although Leier is having a strong season in the AHL, as he did last year, he did not record a point in six games with the Flyers last season. It seems to be a case of Philadelphia preferring an offensive forward in the lineup right now over a defensive one, even if Laughton appears to be a superior player to Leier at the NHL level.
Jets Sign Stanley To Entry-Level Deal
A team not unfamiliar with highly-publicized negotiations pertaining to young defensemen (see: Jacob Trouba), the Winnipeg Jets are at it again with the signing of 2016 first-round pick Logan Stanley. The talks with the 18-year-old were likely much easier than the Trouba ordeal, as the team has inked Stanley to the maximum three-year, $925K per year entry-level contract. A key piece to the Jet’s future endeavors, it was only a matter of time for the two sides to meet on a rookie contract for the big blue liner.
Stanley was selected by the Jets with the 18th overall pick this past June, one of eight defensemen to be taken in the first round of this past NHL Entry Draft. It was, of course, Winnipeg’s second pick in the round, as they selected rookie sensation Patrik Laine at #2 overall. Standing at 6’7″ and 230 pounds, Stanley was easily the biggest player selected in the first round, part of the reason he rose so high on draft boards. Early on in the draft process, Stanley was considered a Day Two prospect. He was known as a physically dominant defensive defenseman whose checking ability was unmatched at the junior level. However, questions about his skating and puck-moving ability remained. With improvement in his offensive play and a more consistent and intelligent game during his draft year, Stanley flew up the rankings and the Jets jumped on him at #18, much to the disappointment of several other D-needy teams.
Although now officially signed, Stanley will remain with his junior team, the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, this season and quite possibly next season as well, as he continues to develop a more complete game. Thus far in 2016-17, the Kitchener native has two goals and seven assists in 20 games, on pace for his best offensive season yet, after posting 17 points (and 103 penalty minutes) in 64 games last season. Stanley hopes to lead the Spitfires back to the playoffs again this season, as they battle with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for first place in the OHL West Division this season.
East Notes: Spooner, Ovechkin, Islanders Executive Search
The Hurricanes, Sharks, and Islanders are among the teams that have been in trade talks with Boston regarding forward Ryan Spooner, reports CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. The Bruins are believed to be shopping the 24 year old who is off to a slow start this season with nine points in 25 games. Spooner, a natural center, has spent a lot of time on the left wing and has bounced anywhere between the first and fourth lines which hasn’t allowed him to settle into one specific role so far.
It’s believed that GM Don Sweeney is looking for a top six forward in return for Spooner, who carries a cap hit of just $950K this season. While there aren’t many top six forwards with a cap charge under $1MM, the Bruins do have some cap space to work with (a little over $3.6MM per CapFriendly) which would make it easier to take a higher priced player back if they can find the right trade.
For his part, Spooner reiterated that his preference is to stay with Boston, the team that drafted him back in the second round (45th overall) back in 2010. With Matt Beleskey set to miss the next six weeks due to a knee injury, Spooner should slide into his spot in the lineup and although that will mean he’ll need to continue to play the left wing, having a bit more certainty in his role may go a long way towards him re-establishing himself as an offensive threat after putting up 49 points last season.
More from the East:
- Capitals head coach Barry Trotz is not happy with captain Alex Ovechkin when it comes to his discipline, writes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. Ovechkin has taken five minor penalties in Washington’s last three games and leads the team with 11 in total, something that Trotz calls “unacceptable”.
- As part of their search to bring in a high level executive, the Islanders are interested in speaking with former Vancouver GM Mike Gillis, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link). TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter links) that the team has spoken with former Isles Pat LaFontaine, Pat Flatley, and Glenn Healy and that they may have interest in Laurence Gilman, another former executive with the Canucks. He notes that Vancouver has not yet been asked for permission to speak with either Gillis or Gilman, something that is required as both still are under contract to the Canucks this season despite being let go.
Injury Updates: Staal, Jets, Lazar, Bennett, Neal
The Carolina Hurricanes got some bad news on the injury front as Jordan Staal’s skating session on Monday did not go as well as expected and as a result, he is not expected to accompany the team on their West Coast trip, reports Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer.
Staal has been out of the lineup since November 27th because of a concussion. He’s in his fifth season with the Hurricanes and has nine points (5-4-9) through 21 games so far this season. In the meantime, Teuvo Teravainen will continue to fill Staal’s role as the second line center having shifted over from the left wing.
Still with Carolina, forward Elias Lindholm, who has missed the last two games with a lower body injury, practiced with a non-contact jersey today. Although he likely won’t be ready for their next game, he is expected to play at some point on the road trip.
Other injury news from around the league:
- In a series of four tweets, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun provided updates on several injured Winnipeg Jets. Leading scorer Mark Scheifele (lower body) won’t play tonight against Detroit but skated today and is progressing well. Defenseman Tyler Myers skated for the first time today since suffering a lower body injury nearly four weeks ago but their remains no timetable for his return. Center Nic Petan, who has seven points in 13 games since being recalled, is out for another couple of weeks for his lower body issue. As for right winger Joel Armia (knee), he’s expected to return sometime in mid-to-late December while center Shawn Matthias (lower body) will be out a little longer as his tentative return date is closer to early January.
- Senators forward Curtis Lazar is out indefinitely with an upper body injury suffered last night against the Penguins, notes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. The team announced via Twitter that Phil Varone has been recalled from their AHL affiliate in Binghamton to take his place. (Also recalled was goalie Andrew Hammond as Craig Anderson is taking another leave of absence.) Varone has 13 points in 18 minor league games this season and led all forwards in the league in preseason scoring. TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that the injury isn’t believed to be too serious.
- The Devils announced (via Twitter) that they have activated right winger Beau Bennett off of injured reserve. He has missed the last three games due to a right leg laceration. To make room for him on the roster, the team assigned center John Quenneville back to Albany of the AHL.
- Predators left winger James Neal skated with teammates for the first time since suffering an upper body injury on November 25th against Winnipeg, writes Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Evidently, everything checked out well as Vingan tweets that the team has activated him off of IR and that he is expected to play tonight against Colorado.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Third Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
Now we move forward to the 23rd pick, which was held by the New Jersey Devils.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Devils selected right winger Nicklas Bergfors out of Sodertalje in Sweden. As he wasn’t drafted out of the Canadian Hockey League, he was eligible to play for New Jersey’s farm team right away and in his post-draft season, he put up an impressive 40 points in 65 games. Unfortunately, after four full AHL seasons, he had just nine NHL games under his belt with little to show for it.
He became an NHL regular in 2009-10 and posted a career best 46 points between New Jersey and Atlanta after he was dealt to the Thrashers as part of the Ilya Kovalchuk trade. He didn’t stay in Atlanta for long as barely a year later, he was flipped to Florida for Radek Dvorak, a rental player that year. That offseason (2011), he joined Nashville as a free agent but after just 11 games with them, he cleared waivers and had his contract terminated. His overall NHL numbers aren’t too bad, with 35 goals and 48 assists in 173 games but he has not had any NHL interest since 2011.
Since that time, Bergfors has played across the pond, mostly in the KHL where he spent time with four different teams. This season, he returned home and is playing with Linkoping of the SHL, where he has just four points in 23 games so far this season.
With the 23rd pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Devils select? Cast your vote below!
Mobile users, click here to vote.
Atlantic Notes: Toronto Trade Speculation, Yandle, Lightning
While there have been rumblings that the Maple Leafs could potentially be shopping left winger James van Riemsdyk, he’s not letting that talk affect him, writes Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star. Given his contract ($4.25MM this season and next), the spot that Toronto is currently in, and the demand for top six talent, there is some logic in suggesting the team could possibly deal him. For his part, van Riemsdyk isn’t too worried about the chatter:
“You’ve gone through it before… That kind of thing, it was different in Philly. It would eat at you a lot more back then. You take it more personally back then and you never thought those things would happen to you. But not so much now, now that you’ve been through it.”
While van Riemsdyk may not be bothered by the speculation surrounding him and, to a lesser degree, William Nylander, head coach Mike Babcock was looking to put an end to it:
“We’re not looking to move those guys. There’s been a bunch of talk, a bunch of talk about Willy too, and I said to those guys, just play hard… We’re not looking to move them. There can be a truth one day and that truth can change the next… There’s noise (media) and you know you guys can make a lot of noise.“
With Toronto being the major media market that it is though, it’s unlikely that the chatter regarding van Riemsdyk will subside any time soon, no matter how much the team publicly indicates that they’re not shopping him.
More from the Atlantic:
- Keith Yandle’s streak of 577 consecutive games played will come to an end tonight after leaving yesterday’s game in the first period due to a lower body injury, notes the Sun Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov. Interim head coach Tom Rowe told reporters that Yandle will be out for a while, though there is no specific timeframe for his return. Dylan McIlrath is expected to draw into the lineup in Yandle’s spot tonight in Philadelphia.
- The Lightning have assigned defenseman Luke Witkowski and center Michael Bournival to their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, the team announced. The moves leave Tampa Bay with just 12 healthy forwards on the active roster although right winger Ryan Callahan is nearing a return to action and could be ready to return for their next game on Thursday.
Blues Place Robert Bortuzzo On IR, Activate Joel Edmundson
Robert Bortuzzo’s tough luck with the injury bug this season continues. The Blues announced that they have placed the blueliner on the injured reserve list with a lower body injury and that they will re-evaluate his condition in six weeks. It’s the second time already this year that Bortuzzo has been on the IR with a lower body issue as he missed nine games from late October to mid-November as well.
This season, the 27 year old has played in 11 games with St. Louis, scoring a goal and an assist while playing just under 14 minutes per game on the third pairing. He’s in his third season with the Blues since being acquired from the Penguins back in March of 2015 in exchange for fellow blueliner Ian Cole.
Likely taking Bortuzzo’s spot in the lineup will be Joel Edmundson, who was activated today off the IR after missing the last 12 games with an upper body injury. He’s in his second NHL season and has suited up for the Blues 13 times this year, picking up an assist and 17 penalty minutes while averaging 15:04 of ice time per night.
[Related: Blues Depth Chart]
Jhonas Enroth Clears Waivers, Toronto Signs Karri Ramo To AHL Tryout
December 6: Enroth has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). He will be sent down to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies; Antoine Bibeau has been recalled to take his place.
Unrestricted free agent goalie Karri Ramo, who has been skating with the Leafs over the last month as he recovers from ACL surgery, has inked a tryout deal with the Marlies, TSN’s Kristen Shilton adds (via Twitter). This will only further fuel the speculation that Ramo’s eventual destination will be with the Maple Leafs as the new backup to Frederik Andersen once he’s back in playing shape.
December 5: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Jhonas Enroth on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman.
Enroth has not won this year, with an 0-3-1 record in four starts and two relief appearances. He was expected to be a dependable backup who could play 20 games with good numbers. He’s signed for this season at $750K.
Enroth’s career numbers before this season were respectable for a backup, with a 0.911 SV% and a 2.80 GAA in seven years in the NHL. In his six appearances this season, he has a 0.872 SV% and goals-against average of just under four.
Coach Mike Babcock said Enroth “wasn’t playing well enough,” according to Mark Masters.
James Mirtle, Editor-in-chief of The Athletic Toronto, tweeted that the Maple Leafs only gave Enroth four starts, which Mirtle called “rough.” He expects the Leafs to go after Karri Ramo, who practiced with the team last month. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported Ramo is nearing medical clearance from his knee injury. Ramo’s career numbers in his current NHL stint are extremely similar to Enroth’s: they have the same SV% and a nearly identical GAAs.
In our ranking of the Top 50 UFAs last summer, Pro Hockey Rumors ranked Enroth 50th. We called him one of the best backup goalies in the NHL. Enroth signed with the Maple Leafs in late August.
Penguins Notes: Pouliot, Ownership, Expansion
The Penguins will soon be facing a tough decision with their defense corps, writes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Derrick Pouliot has been on injured reserve since October 21st with a lower body injury. However, he has been practicing since the middle of November and is nearing a return to the lineup; he recently completed a three game conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with no setbacks.
At the beginning of the year, the 22 year old found himself routinely as a healthy scratch. He has only played in one game this season, the one he was injured in. That’s hardly an ideal spot for any young blueliner to be in, especially one that was a first round pick and is expected to be a key part of Pittsburgh’s future plans.
Head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledges that Pouliot is nearing a return and that they are working on a game plan that will allow him to see more game action when he’s activated off of injured reserve.
The tough decision moving forward will be who comes out of the lineup. Kris Letang is their top rearguard and won’t be sitting while Trevor Daley isn’t likely to sit either. Ian Cole and Justin Schultz have formed a strong third pairing which leaves Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maatta, who are third and fourth in ice time per game for Pittsburgh defenders. Both of them take regular turns on the penalty kill, an area that Pouliot doesn’t typically play.
[Related: Penguins Depth Chart]
Suffice it to say, the Penguins are going to be hard pressed to find regular ice time for Pouliot. It’s one thing to give a player a night off here and there but that’s not the type of playing time that is needed to develop a young player. Pouliot admitted that he hasn’t given any thought to the possibility of a trade yet but acknowledges his immediate future may be a bit murky moving forward:
“I’m not too sure (of what the future holds). We’ll have to see where things go down the road here. Trades happen. You never know what could unfold.”
Other news from Pittsburgh:
- The Penguins are in discussions to add a minority owner, notes Dave Molinari, also of the Post-Gazette. Owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux are in talks with Ventas Inc. CEO Debra Cafaro about a $25MM stake in the team. Last year, Burkle and Lemieux noted that they were looking into their options, including selling a small stake or potentially selling the franchise. They will, however, retain the controlling interest in the club if this potential agreement comes to fruition.
- ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun takes a closer look at Pittsburgh’s expansion draft situation. Their biggest concern comes between the pipes where Marc-Andre Fleury has a partial no-move clause (that can be waived) while Matt Murray needs to be protected as well; teams can only protect one goaltender though. Accordingly, LeBrun is among many to expect that Fleury will be traded before then. If that happens, they then would be without a goalie to leave exposed and since all teams must leave at least one goalie unprotected, GM Jim Rutherford would still have a bit of work to do to meet that requirement.
Matt Beleskey Out Six Weeks
Boston left winger Matt Beleskey will miss the next six weeks with a right knee injury sustained on a hip check from Taylor Fedun on Saturday against the Sabres, the team announced.
Beleskey is off to a quiet start in his second season with the Bruins, collecting just two goals and three assists in 24 games despite averaging more than 15 minutes of ice time per game. Last year, he posted a career high in points with 37 in 80 games.
The injury should open up a spot for Ryan Spooner on Boston’s third line left wing, at least in the short-term. Spooner is believed to be on the trade block after a sluggish start to the season, one that has seen him collect nine points through 25 games. Frank Vatrano, who is still believed to be a couple of weeks away from returning from a foot injury, also should garner some consideration for that spot in the lineup when he gets the green light to play.
[Related: Bruins Depth Chart]
The Bruins are close to getting a bit of good news on the injury front though as right winger Noel Acciari practiced with the team for the first time on Monday since suffering a lower body injury back in early November, notes CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. While he won’t directly slot into Beleskey’s spot, he’ll undoubtedly add some energy to Boston’s fourth line when he returns.