Minor Transactions: 04/04/18

Things are quiet in the NHL tonight, with just three games scheduled before a busy Thursday. One of those games, between Ottawa and Buffalo, is hugely important in the race to the bottom and the best odds at the upcoming draft lottery. Ottawa currently sits three points ahead of the Sabres for last in the NHL, with each team having three games remaining.

As they watch this Dahlin-bowl, the rest of the league continues to make tweaks to their rosters in preparation for the playoffs (or offseason). We’ll keep track of all the moves right here.

• Last night, the San Jose Sharks inked another prospect, signing Sasha Chmelevski to a three-year entry-level contract. Chmelevski will join the San Jose Barracuda on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season, before likely heading back to the OHL next season as a 19-year old. This year, Chmelevski led the Ottawa 67’s in goals and points, taking a huge step forward from his sixth-round draft pedigree.
• The Detroit Red Wings have returned Evgeny Svechnikov, Joe Hicketts and Thomas McCollum to the minor leagues in order to have them ready for Grand Rapids’ playoff run. Svechnikov and Hicketts especially are part of the future in Detroit, and getting them more playoff experience will only be beneficial to their development.
• Arizona, dealing with an injury to Jakob Chychrun, has recalled Dakota Mermis under emergency conditions. Mermis has played seven games with the Coyotes this season, but is still looking for his first NHL point.
• Andrej Sekera is out for the Edmonton Oilers, so the team has decided to recall Keegan Lowe from the minor leagues. Lowe, son of Oilers executive and former player Kevin Lowe, made his NHL debut way back in 2014-15 but hasn’t played at that level since. In 49 games with the Bakersfield Condors this season, he has 14 points.