Hurricanes Send Phil Di Giuseppe To Charlotte
The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned left wing Phillip Di Giuseppe to Charlotte of the AHL, as first reported by Elite Prospects via Twitter. The move was later confirmed on the Charlotte Checkers official team website.
Di Giuseppe has appeared in 11 of Carolina’s 13 contests this year but has failed to record a point and carries a -6 plus-minus rating. The 6-foot, 200-pound forward made his NHL debut in 2015-16 and impressed tallying seven goals and 17 points in just 41 games for the Hurricanes.
It’s not clear whether there will be a corresponding move to recall someone to take Di Giuseppe’s spot. The Hurricanes have just 12 forwards on their roster now with Di Giuseppe off to Charlotte.
Carolina drafted Di Giuseppe in the second round of the 2012 draft out of the University of Michigan. He spent three years in Ann Arbor, playing in 115 games for the Wolverines and scoring 78 points. After signing with Carolina, Di Giuseppe saw action in 104 AHL contests over parts of three seasons and tallying 19 goals with 30 helpers.
Di Giuseppe is in the final season of his two-way, entry level contract which calls for a $867.5K salary while on an NHL roster and just $70K for suiting up in the AHL. Clearly a long-term stint in Charlotte will cost Di Giuseppe a fair amount of cash.
Jakub Nakladal, Shane Harper On Waivers
First-year forward Shane Harper has been placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers tweets Bill Whitehead, who covers the team for the AP. The 27-year-old Harper made his NHL debut this season, seeing action in 14 games and recording three points for the Panthers.
Harper was signed by the Panthers in the summer of 2015 and spent the entire campaign with the AHL Portland Pirates. He scored 12 goals and 37 points in 59 games for the Panthers top minor league affiliate. It’s probable Harper will go unclaimed and be returned to the minors.
Elliotte Friedman adds that joining Harper on waivers this afternoon is defenseman Jakub Nakladal of the Carolina Hurricanes. Nakladal inked an unrestricted free agent deal last month with the Hurricanes and appeared in three contests for Carolina. Nakladal was held scoreless and finished with a -4 plus-minus rating while averaging 14:30 of ice time per game.
Given Nakladal remained unsigned until just days before Carolina’s 2016-17 season opener, it would seem likely he’ll clear waivers and be eligible to be sent to Charlotte of the AHL.
Leafs Waive Seth Griffith
Young forward Seth Griffith has been placed on waivers today by the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. As Johnston adds, with forward Josh Leivo and defenseman Matt Hunwick nearing their respective returns, the Leafs needed to create a spot on the roster and Griffith was the odd-man out.
TSN’s Kristen Shilton suggests the team’s October 24th addition of center Ben Smith from Colorado also helped to make Griffith expendable. Shilton points out that unlike Griffith, Smith kills penalties and excels in the faceoff circle and that might have provided further reasons for the move.
Toronto claimed Griffith off waivers from Boston just a month ago. He saw action in just three of the Leafs first 13 contests failing to register a point. Griffith has appeared in 37 NHL games over parts of three seasons, tallying six goals and five points along with 10 penalty minutes. It’s quite possible another team with room will take a chance on the skilled but unproven Griffith.
Leivo has yet to see action this season but is wrapping up his conditioning assignment and should soon be set to make his 2016-17 season debut. In 12 games with Toronto last season, the 23-year-old left wing scored five goals for the Leafs.
2016 UFA Scoring Leaders
A lot of money changed hands this off-season as teams battled to sign the best unrestricted free agents in the market. But the practice doesn’t guarantee success—sometimes the underrated signings are the ones that pay off. Over the course of the year PHR will list the top-scoring 2016 unrestricted free agents in an effort to gauge the best signings this offseason.
Leading 2016 UFA Scorers (as of 11/11/16)
Jonathan Marchessault (FLA): 13 points (7G, 6A) in 13 games
Alexander Radulov (MTL): 11 points (3G, 8A) in 13 games
Michael Grabner (NYR): 10 points (7G, 3A) in 14 games
Radim Vrbata (ARI): 9 points (4G, 5A) in 12 games
Milan Lucic (EDM): 9 points (5G, 4A) in 14 games
Brandon Pirri (NYR): 9 points (4G, 5A) in 14 games
Thomas Vanek (DET): 8 points (4G, 4A) in 7 games
Eric Staal (MIN): 8 points (4G, 4A) in 11 games
Kyle Okposo (BUF): 8 points (5G, 3A) in 12 games
Colton Sceviour (FLA): 8 points (5G, 3A) in 13 games
Dennis Seidenberg (NYI): 8 points (4G, 4A) in 13 games
Injury Update: Athanasiou, Eichel, Sharp
Injury updates from around the NHL this morning:
- Detroit Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou will be out for one-to-two weeks with a knee sprain, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. Athanasiou suffered the injury last night in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks, and did not return for the start of the second. The Red Wings will call up the much-heralded prospect Anthony Mantha as a replacement. Mantha has been tearing up the AHL so far this year with 8G and 2A in 10 games. The 2013 first round draft pick has been slowly developing in Detroit’s minor league system and may finally get the chance to make the jump to the NHL.
- Buffalo Sabres Coach Dan Bylsma told reporters this morning that former 2nd overall pick Jack Eichel is progressing in his recovery from a high ankle sprain. Eichel skated today for 45 minutes and that followed a 25 minute session yesterday. The Sabres’ top prospect has yet to play a game this season as he suffered the injury in practice the day before the Sabres’ season opener. Buffalo will have to wait a little longer to see if Eichel builds off his excellent rookie campaign where he scored 24G and 32A in 81 games.
- Dallas Stars forward Patrick Sharp returned to practice today for the first time after suffering a concussion, reports the Dallas News’ Mike Heika. Sharp suffered the concussion on October 20th after being hit by the Los Angeles Kings’ defenseman Brayden McNabb. Heika does not expect Sharp to play tonight, but a weekend return is not out of the questions.
Morning Snapshots: Sabres, Dubinsky, Bruins
News and notes from around the NHL this morning:
- The Buffalo Sabres have called up defenseman Justin Falk from Rochester this morning to help replace both Dmitry Kulikov and Josh Gorges, reports John Vogl of the Buffalo News here and here. Defenseman Kulikov missed Thursday’s practice with an undisclosed ailment, but the hope was that he would be able to play in tonight’s game versus the New Jersey Devils. It is unclear whether Gorges is out or just skipping the morning skate, but his absence is sorely missed as he and Rasmus Ristolainen make up the Sabres’ top defensive pairing. Call-up Justin Falk currently has no points in 9 games for the Rochester Americans.
- Brandon Dubinsky may be ready to play, reports the Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline, as the Columbus Blue Jackets reassign forwards Sonny Milano and Markus Hannikainen back down to Cleveland. Dubinsky missed the last two games with injury but looks to return to the lineup tomorrow against the St. Louis Blues. Milano is pointless in two games with the Blue Jackets so far, and Hannikainen, while called up, did not see any ice time last night against the Boston Bruins.
- The Bruins have recalled center Sean Kuraly from Providence, reports Mirk Divver of the Providence Journal. Kuraly played one game for the Bruins so far—November 3rd against Tampa—but did not register a point in his seven minutes of ice time. Kuraly currently has two assists for the Providence Bruins. He’ll act as reinforcement as the Bruins embark on a three-game Western road trip.
Rookie Reports: Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine
Despite a goal drought, Auston Matthews shouldn’t worry too much writes Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The 19-year-old from Arizona scored an NHL record four goals in his first game, but is currently goalless in his last seven. But Johnston writes that Matthews knows droughts and poor play are part of the professional hockey experience. When he was a member of the ZSC Lions last season, Matthews had a similar streak but it didn’t faze him, going a similar number of contests where he wasn’t “playing well.” Johnston feels like Matthews is a recipient of a lack of puck luck than poor play. The Leaf center leads the team in shots during those seven games and had 32 in his past four. Johnston also adds that Matthews isn’t pouting on or off the ice about his struggles.
Meanwhile, Greg Wyshynski writes that Patrik Laine is playing Alex Ovechkin to Matthews’ Sidney Crosby in terms of being a competitive number two pick in comparison to the number one pick. Wyshynski writes that Laine is overtaking Matthews both from the eye test perspective and on the score sheet. Laine has already tallied 11 goals this season, and leads rookies in both goals and points (15). More impressive, Laine notched his second hat trick of the season, and becomes just the fourth player in NHL history to record two hat tricks before his 19th birthday.
Wyshynski figures that Laine, who idolizes Ovechkin, will lead rookies in either goals or points at the end of the season, making his case for the Calder Trophy. Further, Wyshynski writes:
As we said, the Calder still comes down to which rookies lead in points and goals at the end of the season. It’s hard to imagine, barring injury, Laine won’t lead in one of them. And just a month into the season, you can feel that familiar momentum from a decade ago: Flashy, sniping European winger stealing the headlines from the North American prodigy.
While there are still a great crop of rookies in the NHL this season, it will certainly be fascinating to continue watching Matthews and Laine not only this season, but hopefully throughout long and productive careers.
Blues Winter Classic Alumni Roster Released
The St. Louis Blues’ Alumni Roster for their Winter Classic weekend has been released, reports TSN’s Mark Lazerus. It is a star-studded lineup, including the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Keith Tkachuk, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, and Pierre Turgeon. Goaltender Martin Brodeur will also suit up for the Blues after playing only seven games for the team. Brodeur, however, is now an Assistant General Manager with the organization. Notable absences include goalie Curtis Joseph and forward Brendan Shanahan—though the latter may have declined due to his position as President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The full roster is below:
Larry Patey
Keith Tkachuk
Dallas Drake
Adam Oates
Brett Hull
Gino Cavallini
Scott Mellanby
Bernie Federko
Peter Stastny
Terry Yake
Kelly Chase
Scott Young
Pierre Turgeon
Wayne Gretzky
Al MacInnis
Bruce Affleck
Barret Jackman
Garth Butcher
Jamie Rivers
Paul Cavallini
Jeff Brown
Bryce Salvador
Chris Pronger
Mike Liut
Martin Brodeur
Ed Staniowski
Chris Mason
Snapshots: Dubinsky, Kovalchuk, Lightning
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without forward Brandon Dubinsky tonight against the Boston Bruins, reports Fox Sports Ohio’s Dave Maetzgold. Dubinsky is still day-to-day with a lower body injury—first reported by Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline—that forced him to miss Wednesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. The American center has struggled out of the gate, posting 0G and 2A in 10 games for the Blue Jackets. The Jackets, meanwhile, have called up Markus Hannikainen from the Cleveland Monsters to replace Dubinsky in the lineup. The 23 year-old has 4G and 3A in 11 games for the Cleveland Monsters to start the season.
- The Ilya Kovalchuk to the NHL rumors are heating up again. PHR first reported last week that Kovalchuk was mulling a return to the NHL, and the Russian confirmed that in a lengthy interview on the KHL website (link in Russian). Kovalchuk basically states that he would not foreclose the option to return, but he did not affirmatively state that he is seeking a return. Because Kovalchuk is in his final contract year, however, his statements could just be posturing to get a larger contract from SKA St. Petersburg or another KHL team. Kovalchuk is off to a great start this season, scoring 16G and 20A in 28 games, and may look to parlay that into a lucrative contract—KHL or elsewhere.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have scratched Nikita Nesterov tonight to make room for Valtteri Filppula against the New York Islanders tonight, reports Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer Bryan Burns. Nesterov is currently pointless in ten games for Tampa Bay, while Filppula has 4G and 5A in 12 games. Also missing from warmups is Jonathan Drouin, who suffered a head injury against the same Islanders on November 1st.
West Notes: Anisimov, Hendricks, Jets
At Chicago Blackhawks practice today there were some notable absences, including one Artem Anisimov. Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune reports that Anisimov is questionable for the next two games with an undisclosed injury he suffered on Wednesday night. When pressed, head coach Joel Quenneville would not comment on whether it was the concussion spotters who removed the forward.
If Anisimov isn’t able to go, Nick Schmaltz or Marcus Kruger would move up to the second line, while Vincent Hinostroza will figure back into the lineup on Friday regardless of the health of the young center. Hinostroza will play wing however, meaning someone would have to move to the middle or come out of the lineup.
- In Edmonton, head coach Todd McLellan gives an update on injured forward Matt Hendricks. Though he skated with the team today, it was more of a “rehab skate”. McLellan admits that Hendricks is “probably the closest” out of the group of injured players, but still not ready to get back into the lineup. Edmonton currently has a number of players on injured reserve waiting to return to the ice.
- Though he’s now signed and practicing with the team, Winnipeg Jets’ defenceman Jacob Trouba will not play tonight. The young blueliner stayed late at practice to get some extra work, and try to get himself into game shape for the rest of the season. His contract holdout ended on Monday.
- Connor Hellebuyck will start again tonight for the Jets, his fourth game in a row, according to Ken Weibe of the Winnipeg Sun. 2-2 in those four games, Hellebuyck is starting to stake his claim as the Jets No. 1 goaltender. With the struggles of Michael Hutchinson to start the year, and the demotion of Ondrej Pavelec, the door is open for Hellebuyck to run with the job and establish himself as a starter in the NHL at just 23 years of age.