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Archives for October 2017

Logan Brown Sent Back To Junior

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The Ottawa Senators have decided to send 19-year old Logan Brown back to the OHL, ending his first stint in the NHL early. Brown will have to stay with the Windsor Spitfires (or at least in the OHL) for the rest of the season except in emergency circumstances. By sending him back with only four games played, the Senators will not burn one of his entry-level contract years.

Brown was selected 11th-overall in the 2016 draft, but dealt with injury last year for the Spitfires. In 35 games he scored 40 points, but it was a little surprising when the Senators kept him around this fall. Perhaps the team looked at his 6’6″ frame and believed he could make an impact right away, but averaging eight minutes a night every few games was never the way to develop him properly.

He’ll return to a Windsor team coming off a Memorial Cup championship that could certainly use his help. Gabe Vilardi hasn’t suited up for them yet due to injury, while Mikhail Sergachev looks more and more like he’ll stay in the NHL all year. There is actually a real chance that Brown could be moved somewhere else in the OHL this season, like fellow first-round pick Logan Stanley was earlier this summer.

Latest On Kyle Turris Contract Talks

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The Ottawa Senators are off to an interesting start this season, with only one regulation loss through nine games. That stretch has come with just four wins however, as the team has been defeated four additional times in overtime or the shootout. That trend isn’t likely to continue, and the Senators seem poised to take another run at the playoffs and perhaps even another Eastern Conference final. If they want to get there, they’ll likely need their top center to be in top form.

Kyle TurrisThe question is then, who will be that top center? Kyle Turris is currently occupying that role, but is in the final year of his current contract. Last we heard the Senators had offered him a five-year, $30MM contract, but hadn’t been able to come to an agreement. Now, in Pierre Lebrun’s latest column for The Athletic, the venerable insider digs into where the two sides currently sit. Turris’ camp is apparently fixated on an eight-year deal, something the team is unwilling to offer at this point. LeBrun does write that both sides seem amiable towards an eventual contract, but then asks the question of what to do should a deal not be reached by the trade deadline.

Turris would certainly fetch an impressive package on the block, as there are usually several teams looking for help down the middle. Last year, on a similarly expiring contract, Martin Hanzal (along with the currently unsigned Ryan White and a fourth-round pick) netted the Arizona Coyotes a first, second and conditional round draft pick—the latter became a fourth-round pick after the Wild were eliminated early from the playoffs. Certainly Turris, whose offensive game far outpaces Hanzal’s could secure even more.

If they did move him though, the team hardly has an internal option for replacement. Derick Brassard and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are perfectly suited to their current roles, and would be hard-pressed to take on the extra responsibility involved with moving up a slot. Logan Brown, though impressing in his short stint is still just 19 and would need to burn both a year of his entry-level deal (10 games) and crawl a year closer to free agency (40 games) if he’s around at the deadline. For a team looking to compete this season, weakening yourself down the middle is hardly an option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: Which Player Being Kept In The AHL Is The Biggest Surprise?

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Sometimes the NHL can be a cruel mistress. Because of roster constraints, cap situations and contract specifications, players are often pushed down to the AHL out of necessity. It’s unfair, unfortunate and sometimes unexpected.

Today, the Vegas Golden Knights sent Vadim Shipachyov back to the AHL even in the face of his $4.5MM contract. Shipachyov is the victim of the expansion roster, as he’s one of just a handful of players in the organization that are waiver-exempt. The Golden Knights are clearly not willing to lose assets for nothing, and continue to carry nine defensemen on the roster.

Let’s exclude Shipachyov for now, since it’s not even clear whether he will report to the AHL (and it would likely be a landslide poll). He’s off the roster, but he didn’t play for the Chicago Wolves the first time around. Instead, tell us which player who is currently in the AHL is the most surprising to you, whether it be because of skill or salary. We’ve included some of the most obvious candidates, but since it’s almost impossible to list all options make sure to leave any other interesting names in the comments.

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Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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The season is just a few weeks old, but already we’ve had some huge injuries, big trades and a few questionable lineup decisions. With that in mind, submit your question to our mailbag and have our Brian La Rose answer it on Saturday! Is the Matt Duchene saga ever going to end? What do the Montreal Canadiens do to turn their season around? Are the Vegas Golden Knights for real? You can submit your questions on Twitter using the hashtag #PHRMailbag or by using the comment feature below.

Be sure to check back on Saturday when the answers are posted. You can check out the last mailbag right here, where Brian answered questions about John Tavares, Kris Letang, and the coaching hot seat.

Vadim Shipachyov Assigned To AHL

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Amazingly, the Vegas Golden Knights have once again assigned Russian forward Vadim Shipachyov to that AHL, according to SinBin.vegas. With the team welcoming Jon Marchessault back off of injured reserve, a move needed to be made to clear a roster spot. Shipachyov is that move, as the veteran center will return to the AHL and wait for his next opportunity. Whether he actually reports to the Chicago Wolves this time is unclear, as he did not play a game for them on his first minor league stint.

Shipachyov has one point in three games, but head coach Gerard Gallant wasn’t exactly glowing about his play so far. Asked by David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal what he thought of Shipachyov’s first three games, he had this to say:

I didn’t have expectations for him. I know he’s a high [priced] free agent we got this summer and we’d like to see him score more and all that. It’s tough on the guy. He didn’t start here, he started in the minor leagues. Came up and played a few games, and you know he was okay. Wasn’t great, but he was okay. He’s been bounced around a little bit, and we just want him to compete hard and get used to the NHL game. Like I said, it hasn’t been easy right now for him but we’re seven games in so we’ve got to be patient.

The 30-year old center was signed to a two-year, $9MM contract this summer but with the way the Golden Knights are playing they can afford to keep him out of the lineup. The team is 6-1 and has received scoring help from many different sources. Like defenseman Shea Theodore, who remains in the minor leagues despite nine points in five games, Shipachyov will likely have to wait until this hot streak dies down or another injury takes a key player out of the lineup. As waiver-exempt players, both represent asset protection for the expansion club.

Boo Nieves Called Up By New York Rangers

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Just after sending Anthony DeAngelo down to the AHL and waiving Adam Cracknell, the New York Rangers have decided on who they’ll bring up to fill the roster spot. Cristoval “Boo” Nieves is on his way up to the team, something many fans wanted right from the start of the season.

Nieves will likely get into the lineup right away when the team takes on the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night, but will have to make quite an impact to turn around the Rangers’ recent fortunes. The team has just two wins on the season and one in their last seven games, while finding it difficult to score on a regular basis. Nieves did contribute offensively at the University of Michigan, but hasn’t found quite the same playmaking ability in the AHL. Through 55 games in the minor league, he has 26 points.

What Nieves will bring, is a big body to slot into the center position for New York. A weak spot after trading away Derek Stepan in the offseason, the depth down the middle has been suspect all year for the Rangers. While Mika Zibanejad does have seven points through ten games, just two of those have come at even strength, where he is being relied upon for nearly 19 minutes a night. If Nieves can find a bit of success, perhaps some of the pressure can be taken off the top two lines and a more balanced attack can be found for the team.

Washington Capitals Recall Stephenson, Place Burakovsky On IR

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4:00pm: Burakovsky has undergone successful surgery on a broken thumb, and will be out six to eight weeks. While that’s obviously not good news for the Capitals, it does mean that they’ll likely swap him onto long-term injured reserve whenever Niskanen returns, giving them some additional cap relief.

8:33am: The Washington Capitals have recalled forward Chandler Stephenson from the AHL, while moving Andre Burakovsky to the injured reserve list. Burakovsky was absent from yesterday’s practice with an upper-body injury, expected to be related to the hand he was seen examining during Washington’s game on Saturday night.

Burakovsky has been a disappointment for the Capitals so far this season, scoring just four points in nine games despite getting looks on the top line and powerplay. The team had hoped that he would take a big step forward in the absence of players like Marcus Johansson, but this injury will have that dream put on hold for at least a week.

Stephenson on the other hand has put up six points in six AHL contests, and looks ready to try and win a full-time spot with the Capitals. The 23-year old (who is actually older than Burakovsky) has just 13 NHL games under his belt, and has yet to register a point.

Injuries like this are bad for the Capitals on two fronts. While they obviously weaken the product on the ice, short term injuries also don’t provide any cap relief for the team. With the Capitals so close already to the cap ceiling, they’ve been going in and out of the long-term injured reserve relief from Matt Niskanen. Niskanen was seen skating on his own this morning, meaning that relief is not there to stay. While they obviously have a plan, it will be a tight race all season to stay under the cap.

Edmonton Oilers Officially Activate Leon Draisaitl, Drake Caggiula

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The Edmonton Oilers are starting to get healthy. After practicing in full this week and being cleared to return, the team has activated both Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula from injured reserve, while assigning Brad Malone to the Bakersfield Condors to make room. Draisaitl and Caggiula will be in the lineup tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The pair return to a team that hasn’t been able to generate much offense despite having one of the best players in the world leading their lineup. Edmonton is 2-5 on the season and have scored just 10 even-strength goals all season. Six of those ten have been assisted on or scored by Connor McDavid, leaving one to wonder where any secondary scoring is expected to come from. Draisaitl will hopefully help that, though his breakout season a year ago was played for the most part alongside the 20-year old captain. Draisaitl did have three points before being taken out of the lineup due to a concussion.

Edmonton has a tough stretch in front of them, facing the reigning Stanley Cup champions twice in the span of four games. In between, they’ll take on the streaking Dallas Stars and the always dangerous Washinton Capitals. If things don’t start turning around for the Oilers, they could find themselves in a deep hole to try and climb out of. Even with McDavid leading the way, giving up points in what looks like a wide open Pacific Division is a rough way to start the season.

Snapshots: Koekkoek, Schroeder, Farnham

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When the Vancouver Canucks announced that Troy Stecher would be absent from their blueline for at least a month, questions started popping up over who the Canucks would promote to a starting role. While Alex Biega is set to get the first crack at his spot, he’s shown before that he doesn’t bring anything close to the type of game that Stecher was known for. Patrick Wiercioch is also up with the team, but similarly doesn’t represent much upside for the Canucks.

Cue the speculation, and an interesting name out of News 1130’s Rick Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal reports that an agent asked him “if [he has] heard the Canucks are talking to Tampa Bay about Slater Koekkoek.” While it’s not clear if that means they have in fact had any conversations, the possibility is interesting. With Mikhail Sergachev confirmed as staying with the team past the nine-game threshold, there isn’t a ton of ice time for Koekkoek. He’s clearly the odd man out in Tampa’s rotation, but would require waivers to be sent to the minor leagues.

  • Jordan Schroeder has indeed been sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, even with the injury to Lukas Sedlak. Schroeder cleared waivers earlier today, and will head to Cleveland to continue his season. The Blue Jackets, now down to 13 forwards, are currently carrying an extra roster spot. Whether that’s filled with another forward, or an eighth defenseman is still to be decided.
  • The Ottawa Senators have signed Jack Rodewald to a two-year entry-level contract. Rodewald had been playing with their AHL affiliate Belleville this season on a minor-league deal, but could now be called up to the NHL should his play warrant it. The undrafted forward scored 85 points in his final year of junior for the Moose Jaw Warriors, and has four points in his first five games this season in the AHL.
  • Bobby Farnham has signed a professional tryout with the Springfield Thunderbirds according to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Farnham had appeared in New York Rangers’ training camp on a tryout earlier this summer, but failed to make the team. The undrafted forward has 67 NHL games under his belt, but is know more for his rough play than his scoring ability. He has just 10 career points, all with New Jersey in 2015-16.

Anthony DeAngelo Sent Back To AHL

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The New York Rangers have made another roster move today, sending Anthony DeAngelo down to the AHL. The 22-year old defenseman had played eight games for the Rangers this season, but will now have to ply his trade at the minor league level.

It’s a curious move for the Rangers, opening another roster spot after waiving Adam Cracknell this morning. The team was carrying eight defensemen and dressing seven of them, using DeAngelo as basically a powerplay specialist. Moving forward, the team is likely to go back to dressing 12 forwards, though it’s not clear who they will all be. The team recently sent Filip Chytil down to the AHL, and find themselves in a disappointing 2-6-2 hole to start the year. Waiving Cracknell is one thing, but perhaps another move is needed to give the team some jump.

Whether that move is imminent is unclear, so for now one must assume that the team will insert Paul Carey back into the lineup when they take on the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. That may not make Rangers’ fans happy, as the 29-year old forward has been held scoreless through his five games this season.

For DeAngelo, this isn’t the first time he’s failed to live up to expectations. Traded first from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and then again this summer from the Arizona Coyotes, the offensive blueliner can’t seem to put it all together at the NHL level. In 47 career games he has 15 points, but is also a -17. While possession statistics may paint a different picture for his overall impact, coaching staffs clearly don’t trust him to log a regular shift.

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