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Archives for December 2017

Minnesota Wild Continue To Shop Kyle Quincey; Assign To AHL

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After clearing waivers last week, the Minnesota Wild have officially sent Kyle Quincey to the AHL. As Michael Russo of The Athletic reports, they continue to try and trade the veteran defenseman, but will bury him in the minor leagues for the time being. Minnesota saves most of Quincey’s $1.25MM cap hit by sending him down, and have recalled Ryan Murphy after a similar cap-saving maneuver yesterday.

Quincey hasn’t been a great fit in Minnesota, refusing to play the right side for head coach Bruce Boudreau and generally being ineffective in his limited minutes. The Wild have several younger, cheaper, more mobile options that can fill his role, but it may be hard to find a buyer. Once known for his solid two-way style and offensive upside, Quincey is no longer an option on the powerplay and seems to be on the last legs of his career.

At 32, there is reason to believe that he could bounce back somewhat on a different team and find some of the magic that he found as a young player for the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche. It’s been nearly a decade since his best seasons though, and he’s now struggled on three different teams in the last year. Minnesota would have to find a team desperate for veteran depth to take him, and even then it’s unlikely that it would be to take over a role on the NHL team right away. More likely it would be as a veteran option to keep in the AHL as injury insurance.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Pierre-Olivier Joseph To Three-Year Deal

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The Arizona Coyotes gave one young player a chance at the NHL today, and now have inked another prospect to an entry-level contract. Pierre-Olivier Joseph has signed his three-year entry-level deal, less than a year after being the 23rd-overall selection at the 2017 Entry Draft.

Joseph was ranked all over lists heading into the draft last June, without a consensus on where he’d be selected. That was mostly because of his slight frame, as he weighs in at just 161-lbs despite being 6’2″. That didn’t scare off the Coyotes, who recognized his shutdown potential even as he was relied upon for offense just as much as defense on the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL. That offense hasn’t gone away in junior—he has 21 points in 23 games this season—but Joseph’s ceiling will rely on his defensive game at the next level.

He’ll likely need a few years to continue to fill out and gain strength, but there are all the tools there to be a successful NHL defender. With other young blueliners like Jakob Chychrun, Kyle Capobianco, Filip Westerlund and Cam Dineen in the mix, the Coyotes are building themselves quite the pipeline of talent. If they hit on project players like Joseph, they could be in for a lot of success.

Kyle Capobianco Recalled By Arizona Coyotes

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After waiving defenseman Joel Hanley earlier today, it seems that another rookie is poised to make his debut in Arizona. The Coyotes have recalled 20-year old Kyle Capobianco for the first time in his professional career, and could insert him in the lineup should Niklas Hjalmarsson not be ready to return on Thursday. The team is in the midst of a four-game road trip, and will take on the Boston Bruins later this week.

Capobianco leads all defenseman in Tucson with 14 points this season and is another very intriguing prospect for the Coyotes. Drafted in the third round in 2015, he has continued to show off his high-end skating ability and developed into a formidable two-way presence. Though he’s not imposing physically, he does have the height and reach needed to succeed in the defensive end, and can move the puck out of trouble quickly with his feet. Whether that immediately translates to the NHL is still to be seen.

After a summer of moves to accelerate the Coyotes rebuild process—acquiring veterans like Hjalmarsson, Derek Stepan, Jason Demers and Antti Raanta—the team looked lost at the beginning of the season, unable to win in regulation. With a strong recent stretch they’ve turned that around and are trying to climb back into the race in the Pacific Division. To do that, they’ll have to really rely on their young players and Capobianco could be one of them. We’ll have to watch and see if he gets into the lineup, or if this is just a taste of NHL life.

Detroit Red Wings Trade Scott Wilson To Buffalo Sabres

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The Detroit Red Wings era for forward Scott Wilson will come to a quick end, as the team has traded him to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2019 fifth-round pick. Wilson was acquired by the Red Wings just this season as part of the Riley Sheahan trade, and will move on after just 17 games with the club.

Wilson, 25, is scoreless this season through 20 games but showed last year that he’s capable of adding some secondary scoring if given the chance. With 78 games in his first full season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he scored 26 points in limited minutes and added another six in the playoffs. He played fewer than 10 minutes in all but three of his games with Detroit, but will likely be afforded more ice time in Buffalo.

With just a $625K cap hit in the second year of his current contract, Wilson will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Though his early play hasn’t done much to help his case, a good second half with Buffalo could put him in line for a multi-year deal as a valuable bottom-six player. With the Sabres waiving Matt Moulson today, there is clearly a change coming in Buffalo.

Wilson will be reunited with GM Jason Botterill, who previously worked with the Penguins when Wilson was working his way through the minor league system. He’ll also join Evan Rodrigues, a former teammate with the Georgetown Raiders of the OJHL. Both played in that league partly to maintain their NCAA eligibility, heading to UMass-Lowell (Wilson) and Boston University (Rodrigues). With Rodrigues just called up this morning, there’s a possibility the pair even plays together right away.

The Red Wings had sent a fifth-round pick along with Sheahan to the Pittsburgh Penguins, which they’ve now basically reclaimed with the deal to Buffalo—though, the original pick was for 2018, meaning they’ve moved back a year. For a team that was shellacked on the weekend and is beginning to show cracks in their early season success, Detroit is committed to adding future assets even as they attempt to make the playoffs.

Whether Botterill and company see Wilson as a  piece long-term will be decided before next season, but there was clearly an impression made on him in the past to use an asset at this point in the year. The Sabres are almost completely out of playoff contention already, and are just looking for some consistency or improvement at this point. Wilson is nothing if not a hard worker, and could inject some energy into the team right away. Whether that translates into points is still to be seen.

Arizona Places Joel Hanley On Waivers

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Along with Matt Moulson—who the Buffalo Sabres already announced would be going on waivers today— Joel Hanley has been placed on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Hanley’s assignment likely means that Niklas Hjalmarsson will be ready to return to the lineup on Thursday night.

The Coyotes signed Hanley to a one-year deal this summer after he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Montreal Canadiens, but likely expected him to play most of the season in the minor leagues. He’s now played four games for the Coyotes, but was held scoreless in each. The 26-year old has just 21 games under his belt since earning his entry-level contract in 2015, after grinding his way through four years at UMass-Amherst and another on an AHL deal in the minors.

Arizona is still at the bottom of the standings in the Pacific Division, but have recently climbed a bit closer to relevance. With Jakob Chychrun back and making an impact right away, and now a return from Hjalmarsson perhaps they can continue to creep their way up the standings.

Teams Gauging Availability Of Buffalo Goaltenders

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The Buffalo Sabres have dominated the headlines this morning with the news that they’ll place Matt Moulson on waivers at noon, and Darren Dreger of TSN has some more information regarding the team. Dreger reports on Twitter that teams have called the Sabres about both Chad Johnson and Robin Lehner, trying to gauge the availability of the two goaltenders. With the Sabres falling even further out of the playoff race with four straight losses, it surely won’t be the only calls they’ll receive on players this year.

Both Lehner and Johnson are free agents this summer, with the former being of the restricted variety. While he’s previously shown an ability to put up excellent numbers at the NHL level, Lehner has been just as much of a disappointment as anyone else on the team. With what would be a career-low .903 save percentage, Lehner would be a tough evaluation for new Sabres GM Jason Botterill and head coach Phil Housley. If the team doesn’t believe he can be their starter going forward, perhaps moving him this season would be the right move. As a 26-year old, he’ll need a long-term contract this summer or be heading for unrestricted free agency next offseason.

None of this is to say that the Sabres would actually move a goaltender, but Johnson certainly has to be getting close to expendable. Brought in on a one-year deal to stabilize the backup position, he’s posted a very poor .883 save percentage and won just a single start. With Linus Ullmark waiting in the wings for another chance at the NHL, Johnson’s place doesn’t seem so secure.

Matt Moulson Placed On Waivers

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The Buffalo Sabres announced that veteran forward Matt Moulson will be placed on waivers today, for the purpose of assignment to the AHL. Moulson has been held scoreless this season through 14 games, and has struggled to get into the lineup on a consistent basis.

Matt MoulsonMoulson, 34, carries a $5MM cap hit for this year and next in the final two seasons of his $25MM deal. His career with Buffalo has been anything but productive, as he continually underperformed after coming over from the New York Islanders. Early in the 2013-14 season, the Sabres acquired Moulson (along with two high draft picks) in exchange for Thomas Vanek and then flipped him later in the season to Minnesota for another package of picks and prospects.

Just a few months later, Moulson re-signed with the Sabres when Buffalo offered him a five-year $25MM contract. He was expected to bring some of his goal scoring talent—he’d previously scored 30+ in three separate seasons—but ended up quickly falling down the forward depth chart. Now in the fourth season of that contract, Moulson has just 35 goals and 94 points in 253 games while basically skating as a fourth-liner for the past three years.

By sending him to Rochester if he clears waivers, the Sabres will save (a prorated) $1.025MM in cap space, but will have to pay out his full $5MM salary. Next season, he’s owed just $3MM in actual salary but would be a potential buyout candidate once again. It’s unlikely that he will be claimed, as his cap hit is too restrictive for what he brings to the team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 12/04/17

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After an interesting weekend around the NHL, teams like the Winnipeg Jets are finding themselves in unfamiliar territory. The Canadian team is in first place in the Central Division, leapfrogging the St. Louis Blues and tying the Tampa Bay Lightning for the best record in the league. In the East, the Montreal Canadiens are flying up the Atlantic Division while the Pittsburgh Penguins are back to their winning ways.

As teams continue to push towards the Christmas break, we’ll keep an eye on all the minor transactions of the day.

  • The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Evan Rodrigues from Rochester, sending down Kyle Criscuolo in his place. Rodrigues was expected to make an impact at the NHL level this season, but missed the first part of the year with an injured hand. Suffering the injury in the preseason, he’s only been back in AHL game action for the last few weeks. With 10 points in eight games he’s ready to contribute to the Sabres once again.
  • Tampa Bay has sent defenseman Jamie McBain back to the AHL, after just a few days with the club. McBain was called up over the weekend to give the team some insurance after Braydon Coburn wasn’t able to dress, but never got into the lineup. The veteran has 11 points in 21 games for the Syracuse Crunch this season. (Update 7:45pm: McBain has been called back up by the team, as both Coburn and Jake Dotchin are still unable to return).
  • Dominic Toninato has been sent back to the San Antonio Rampage by the Colorado Avalanche, ending his short stint with the team. The 23-year old forward played eight games for the club and registered one point, but wasn’t effective enough to deserve regular minutes. The team has called up Rocco Grimaldi in his stead, though Colin Wilson is also set to return from injury.
  • Mark Stepneski of NHL.com reports that the Dallas Stars have assigned Jason Dickinson to the AHL, meaning the 22-year old will have to wait for another chance at his first goal this season. In four games Dickinson was held scoreless and will return to the minor leagues to continue his development. A first-round pick by the Stars a few years ago, he still has a bright future in the organization.

Five Key Stories: 11/27/17 – 12/3/17

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As the calendar has turned to December, activity has started to pick up around the league.  Here are the top stories from the past week, highlighted by a significant trade between Anaheim and New Jersey.

Doughty, Karlsson Comment On Next Contracts: Although Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and Senators blueliner Erik Karlsson are signed through 2018-19, that didn’t stop both of them from commenting on their next contracts.  Doughty fired the first salvo saying that he (and Karlsson) “deserve quite a bit more” than Predators defender P.K. Subban, whose $9MM cap charge leads the league.  A day later, Karlsson made some waves when he told reporters that there will be no hometown discount for the Senators and suggested that he will go to the highest bidder if he makes it to the open market in 2019.  Neither player can sign an extension until July of 2018 so this is going to linger for a while.

Nov 13, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Derek Dorsett (15) skates against the Dallas Stars during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY SportsDorsett’s Career Over: Canucks winger Derek Dorsett was off to a strong start to his season, one that saw him record seven goals in 20 games after missing most of last year after undergoing cervical disc herniation surgery.  Unfortunately, the feel-good story came to a crashing halt on Thursday when it was announced that his career is over after consulting with doctors when his neck pain returned late last month as the decision was made that it would be too dangerous to his health to continue playing.  Dorsett has one year remaining on his contract after this one but he will likely spend the season on injured reserve and then formally retire at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Sabres Willing To Retain On Kane: Sabres winger Evander Kane already figures to be in high demand between now and the trade deadline.  He’s off to a blistering start to the season and leads Buffalo in scoring but the speculation has been that a contract extension isn’t likely to occur in the weeks to come.  This past week, it came out that the team would be willing to retain salary to facilitate a trade.  Considering Kane carries a $5.25MM cap hit, their willingness to hold back part of that should help draw more interest from some of the more cap-strapped teams around the league.  Buffalo can retain up to 50% of Kane’s contract.

Golden Knights Extend McNabb: Vegas has been quite pleased with the play of defenseman Brayden McNabb so far this season and put their money where their mouth is as they inked the blueliner to a four-year, $10MM contract extension.  While his offensive numbers don’t stand out, he is logging a career-best 19:30 of ice time per night while providing a sound defensive presence on a relatively inexperienced Golden Knights back end.

Devils, Ducks Make Big Trade: Last but certainly not least in the headlines of the week was the trade between Anaheim and New Jersey that saw defenseman Sami Vatanen join the Devils (along with a conditional third-round pick) in exchange for centers Adam Henrique and Joseph Blandisi plus a 2018 third-rounder.  For Anaheim, it helps to solidify their depth down the middle (which is important given their top-two pivots are both injured) while New Jersey fills a big hole on their back end.  On the surface, this appears to be one of those pure ‘hockey trades’ where both teams successfully use a surplus to fill a need.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sabres Notes: Asking Price For Kane, Listening To Offers On All But Eichel

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While many expect the Sabres to deal Evander Kane between now and the trade deadline, the asking price is believed to be higher than the top rental players from the previous deadlines.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has been told that Buffalo will be seeking a return higher than what Winnipeg received for Andrew Ladd in 2016 (Marko Dano, a first-round pick, and a conditional pick) and what the Coyotes got for Martin Hanzal and Ryan White (first, second, and fourth-round selections).

Kane’s production pace (12 goals and 12 assists through 27 games) vastly surpasses what Ladd and Hanzal did in the final year of their respective contracts so that level of an asking price will be justified.  However, with teams being less and less willing to trade top draft picks now, it will be interesting to see what type of market GM Jason Botterill has to work with when it comes to trying to move his top scorer.

Friedman adds that Buffalo is telling teams that they can ask about any player not named Jack Eichel.  He’s quick to note that this is not to be equated as the Sabres actively shopping everyone other than Eichel but they are prepared to listen to offers.  Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, as well as forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart, would certainly generate a lot of interest and all three have at least four years of team control remaining so other teams should be more willing to part with key draft picks and youngsters than they might with a pending UFA like Kane.

With the Sabres sitting dead last in the NHL and a new coach and GM already in place from the summer, it appears that the next big change will have to be in terms of player personnel.  As a result, Buffalo is going to be a team to watch for in the weeks ahead.

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