The NHL season is underway. NHL (and AHL) camps have shaken out and the final AHL signings of the off-season are filing in, as well as early season NHL adjustments. Here are some minor transactions from across the minors today:
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled defenseman Ben Harpur from their newly relocated affiliate, the Belleville Senators, the team announced. Harpur played in six regular season games for the Sens last season, but suited up for an additional nine playoff games and was given substantial ice time. However, with the off-season addition of Johnny Oduya, Harpur was pushed from the top seven on the organizational depth chart. In fact, many would say that Harpur is actually the second-to-next-man-up, behind star prospect Thomas Chabot, but in their first promotion of the season – with Oduya dealing with a lower-body injury and captain Erik Karlsson still sidelined – Ottawa chose Harpur instead.
- Back in Binghamton, the former home of the AHL Senators, new tenants the Devils, New Jersey’s former Albany affiliate, has made a couple notable moves of their own. The team announced today that they have brought in a pair of NHL veterans, inking forward Tim Kennedy to a one-year deal and signing defenseman Tim Erixon to a PTO. Kennedy, a 31-year-old journeyman forward who last played in the NHL in 2013-14, scored 29 points in 37 games for the divisional rival Rochester Americans in 2016-17. Erixon, a 2009 first-round pick, was one of many AHL veterans to man the blue line for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ affiliate in Wilke-Barre/Scranton last season. The 26-year-old is solid, if not unspectacular, but stands a good chance of earning a contract for the Devils, who lack minor league depth on the blue line.
- The Stockton Heat, affiliate to the Calgary Flames, have added a pair of experienced defenseman to their own blue line, announcing the signings of Cody Goloubef and Colby Robak. Goloubef is particularly interesting as he played 33 games for the Colorado Avalanche last season and was a late camp cut by the Buffalo Sabres, performing well on a PTO. Goloubef is a major boost for Stockton, but he will certainly keep an eye out for NHL opportunities as the 2017-18 season progresses. Meanwhile, Robak has not played in the NHL since 2014-15 and hasn’t played a meaningful big league role since early in 2013-14 with the Florida Panthers. Yet, Robak continues plugging along and had a strong AHL season in 2016-17, one spent mostly with the Utica Comets but which began with the Stockton Heat. The team seemingly saw enough to bring him back.
- The Hershey Bears signed forward Jeremy Langlois to a one-year AHL deal today, as reported by the ever-popular Washington Capitals affiliate. The hard-working forward from Tempe, Arizona is trying to get back to the NHL after a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks in 2015-16 was spent entirely in the AHL. The Quinnipiac alum was an undrafted free agent that first impressed with big numbers in the ECHL and then the AHL, with the Sharks then-affiliate in Worcester, earning him an entry-level deal and a major role on the re-located Barracuda squad two years ago. However, he was unqualified and signed with the Rockford Ice Hogs in 2016-17, where his offense steeply declined. Langlois will look for a fresh start in Hershey this season.