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Archives for September 2018

Blue Jackets Sign Michael Prapavessis

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4:12 PM: Columbus has confirmed the signing (Twitter link).  Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

2:13 PM: The Blue Jackets are expected to sign defenseman Michael Prapavessis to an entry-level contract, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link).  This would represent an upgrade on the minor league deal he signed with the team last week.

The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick (105th overall) of Dallas back in 2014 but the Stars opted against signing him to an entry-level deal following the conclusion of his collegiate career which made him an unrestricted free agent last month.  In four years at RPI, Prapavessis collected seven goals and 55 assists in 154 games along with 80 PIMS and a -46 rating.

He played well enough in college to earn an ECHL deal late in 2017-18 and he got into 11 games with Cincinnati, picking up a pair of helpers.  That helped earn him an invite to the rookie tournament with Columbus and he has now apparently worked his way up to an NHL two-way deal.  That’s a nice turn of events for someone that was let go by his original team less than six weeks ago.

Metropolitan Injury Notes: Ladd, Soderstrom, Boyd, Sprong

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Islanders winger Andrew Ladd continues to miss practice due to an undisclosed injury but GM Lou Lamoriello told reporters, including Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link), that although Ladd won’t be ready to start the season, LTIR is not a consideration at this point.  The veteran has been skating on his own at times but the issue does not seem to be going away.

Meanwhile, it will be a while before the team gets a look at goalie prospect Linus Soderstrom.  Arthur Staple of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that the 22-year-old hasn’t skated in months due to injury and remains in Sweden working with a medical trainer.  Accordingly, there is no timetable for when he will be able to play.  Once he’s cleared, he’s expected to suit up with the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.

More injury notes from around the Metropolitan Division:

  • Washington center Travis Boyd is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will likely not be ready to start the season, notes Mike Vogel of the Capitals’ team site (Twitter link). That will open up a spot for Nic Dowd to take the fourth-line spot down the middle to start the campaign, filling the vacancy created by Jay Beagle when he signed in Vancouver.  The two had been battling for that position with the other likely to be an extra player on the roster.
  • Penguins winger Daniel Sprong is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, the team announced on Twitter. There’s no word yet as to whether or not he’ll be available to start the season.  The 21-year-old is looking to crack Pittsburgh’s lineup on a full-time basis although he has spent a good chunk of the preseason in a depth role.  However, he has shown flashes of offensive upside dating back to his time in junior and could be an intriguing player if he can eventually grab a hold of a spot on an offensive line.

Hurricanes Sign Michal Cajkovsky

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Michal Cajkovsky’s tryout with Carolina proved to be successful as the team announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a one-year, entry-level contract.  The deal will pay the league minimum of $650K at the NHL level and $70K (the maximum on an ELC) at the minor league level.

The 26-year-old spent last season with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the KHL, recording 19 points in 43 regular season games while pitching in with a pair of assists in four postseason contests.  He also did well in international play, landing a spot on Slovakia’s Olympic team as well as their entry at the World Championships which likely got him on Carolina’s radar.

This won’t be Cajkovsky’s first time playing in North America, however.  He spent three years in the OHL with Kingston and Ottawa before spending two seasons in the minors, suiting up primarily in the ECHL before signing in the Czech Republic in 2015.

Cajkovsky will continue to push for a spot on Carolina’s roster where he would likely slot in as a reserve defender.  If he fails to do so, he’ll be able to be assigned to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte despite being 26 since he is on his entry-level pact.  As he’ll turn 27 in May. he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in July so a strong showing could put him in line for a nice raise one year from now.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/27/18

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With the season now less than a week away, teams are getting closer to finalizing their opening rosters.  We’ll keep tabs of the players getting cut here.

Note that this list does not include players that were placed on waivers today.  Those can be found here.

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
D Will Borgen (to Rochester, AHL)
F Victor Olofsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Cody Bass (released from PTO)
D Sergei Boikov (to Colorado, AHL)
G Pavel Francouz (to Colorado, AHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Ty Lewis (to Colorado, AHL)
F Igor Shvyrev (to Colorado, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

D John Nyberg (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

RW Colin Campbell (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Carter Camper (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Marcus Crawford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Matthew Ford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Trevor Hamilton (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Axel Holmstrom (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Dominik Shine (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D MacKenze Stewart (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
LW Chris Terry (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Trevor Yates (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter)

F Ryan McLeod (to Mississauga, OHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Bokondji Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Ontario, AHL)
F Drake Rymsha (to Ontario, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Sam Anas (to Iowa, AHL)
F Alexander Khovanov (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Justin Kloos (to Iowa, AHL)
D Carson Soucy (to Iowa, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team Twitter)

F Bobby Butler (released from PTO)
F Gabriel Fontaine (to Hartford, AHL)
F Tim Gettinger (to Hartford, AHL)
D John Gilmour (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryan Gropp (to Hartford, AHL)
F Drew Melanson (released from PTO)

San Jose Sharks (per Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News)

D Ryan Merkley (to Guelph, OHL)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

F Adam Gaudette (to Utica, AHL)
D Olli Juolevi (to Utica, AHL)

In addition, F Brendan Gaunce will be placed on waivers on Friday.

Vegas Golden Knights (per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal)

D Erik Brannstrom (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

D Tyler Lewington (to Hershey, AHL)
G Ilya Samsonov (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Sergei Shumakov (to Hershey, AHL)
G Vitek Vanecek (to Hershey, AHL)

Twelve Players Placed On Waivers

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Unsurprisingly, it’s another busy day on the waiver wire as teams continue to trim their roster in advance of the regular season.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that the following dozen players are on the wire:

F Andrew Agozzino (Colorado)
F Jean-Sebastien Dea (Pittsburgh)
D Taylor Fedun (Buffalo)
D Mason Geertzen (Colorado)
D Ryan Graves (Colorado)
D Dillon Heatherington (Dallas)
F Scott Kosmachuk (Colorado)
F Mark Letestu (Columbus)
F Wade Megan (Detroit)
D Reece Scarlett (Dallas)
D Zach Trotman (Pittsburgh)
G Scott Wedgewood (Buffalo)

Wedgewood spent last season with three different organizations.  After clearing waivers in camp with the Devils, he was quickly flipped to Arizona where he served as the Coyotes’ backup for three months.  He was then included in a pre-deadline deal with the Kings where he was once again waived and sent back to the AHL.

On the back end, Heatherington made his NHL debut in Dallas last season, getting into six games.  The 23-year-old wrapped up his entry-level deal last season and is on the wire for the first time in his career.  Trotman is a veteran of 70 NHL contests and was fairly productive in limited action with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate last season, collecting 17 points in just 49 games.  Fedun has seen NHL action in each of the last five years but has been an injury call-up in that span.  Scarlett, Geertzen, and Graves have all yet to play at the NHL level.

Up front, Letestu is the most notable.  He just signed with Columbus earlier today and should serve as veteran depth in case injuries strike.  Dea finished second in scoring in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after tallying 50 points in 70 games and with undersized offensive players getting more looks now, he could have an outside chance at being claimed.  Agozzino and Kosmachuk are coming off of productive years in the minors but haven’t seen NHL action since 2015-16.   Megan got into one game with St. Louis last season but is coming off of a quieter AHL season that saw his production get cut in half from 66 points down to 33.

As for yesterday’s group, all 17 players on the wire cleared, per CapFriendly (Twitter link).

Blue Jackets Sign Mark Letestu To A One-Year Contract

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Center Mark Letestu is returning to the Blue Jackets.  The team announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year, two-way contract and have placed him on waivers for the purpose of sending him to their AHL affiliate in Cleveland.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the deal will pay $750K at the NHL level, $300K in the minors, and contains a guarantee of $350K.

The 33-year-old spent most of last season with Edmonton before being dealt to Columbus in advance of the trade deadline to give them some more depth down the middle.  Between the two teams, he played in 80 games, scoring nine goals and 14 assists while averaging 12:51 per night in ice time.  However, that was a big drop in his production as in 2016-17, he collected 35 points (16-19-35, a career high) and that likely played a role in him not landing a guaranteed deal until now.  Letestu attended training camp with Florida but was cut earlier this week.

The veteran is still an above average player at the faceoff dot, winning 53.3% of his draws last season and has a career mark of 52.1%.  Accordingly, when the Blue Jackets suffer an injury or two down the middle, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them turn to Letestu as they know he can hold down a fourth line role without too much trouble, assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed on Friday.

Blackhawks Sign Brandon Davidson To A One-Year Contract

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Brandon Davidson’s tryout with Chicago has proven to be successful as the Blackhawks announced (Twitter link) that they have signed the defenseman to a one-year $650K contract.

2017-18 was a whirlwind for the 27-year-old.  After starting the season with Montreal, he dropped down the depth chart and was ultimately placed on waivers at the beginning of December.  Edmonton placed a claim, bringing him back to his original organization but he didn’t stay there for too long as just before the trade deadline, the Islanders dealt a 2019 third-round pick to secure Davidson’s rights to give them some extra depth for their postseason push that ultimately fell short.

On the season, he wound up playing in 51 games between the three teams, collecting just four goals and three assists while averaging 16:49 per night in ice time.  That output wasn’t enough to justify the Islanders tendering him a $1.55MM qualifying offer back in June which made him an unrestricted free agent.

Davidson should have a chance to make an immediate impact in Chicago as their back end is already banged up.  Connor Murphy is dealing with a back injury and won’t be back until either November or December while Gustav Forsling is still recovering from offseason wrist surgery.  Brent Seabrook is also nursing an abdomen injury although he could play in the season opener.  That should allow Davidson to start the season in a third-pairing role and once the team is fully healthy, he’ll serve as an experienced extra player making the league minimum salary which is a nice bargain for the Blackhawks to have.

Atlantic Notes: Gardiner, McCarron, Zadina

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While William Nylander’s contract talks are currently at the top of the to-do list for the Maple Leafs, they also have a notable pending UFA on the books in defenseman Jake Gardiner.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (video link) that the team plans to discuss an extension with the 28-year-old in the next few weeks.  Gardiner is coming off a very productive season that saw him post a career-high 52 points and if Toronto’s attack is as potent as some believe it will be, he could certainly equal or improve upon that total in 2018-19.  With that in mind, Dreger speculates that it will take an offer in the high $6MM to low $7MM range to lock him up which would represent a significant increase on his current $4.05MM AAV.

More from the Atlantic:

  • The Canadiens tried to move center Michael McCarron over the summer, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. However, teams weren’t willing to part with a draft pick for him as they were anticipating he’d be on waivers.  That was indeed the case and he passed through unclaimed on Wednesday.  Presumably, Montreal will now hope that their top pick in 2013 rebuilds some value in Laval although they also could look to flip him for a player in a similar situation in the hopes that a change of scenery proves to be beneficial.
  • With a spot in the top nine looking unlikely, Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill suggested to reporters, including Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, that winger Filip Zadina could be heading to AHL Grand Rapids to start the season. The sixth-overall pick back in June was viewed as one of the more NHL-ready players in the 2018 draft class but if the 18-year-old is only going to be able to play limited minutes in Detroit, going down to the minors and playing a top role would likely be the better move in terms of his development.

2018-19 Season Primer: Minnesota Wild

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With the NHL season now less than a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Minnesota Wild.

Last Season: 45-26-11 record (101 points), third in the Central Division (lost to Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $1.77MM per CapFriendly

Key Additions: D Matt Bartkowski (free agent, Calgary), F J.T. Brown (free agent, Anaheim), F Eric Fehr (free agent, San Jose), F Matt Hendricks (free agent, Winnipeg), F Matt Read (free agent, Philadelphia), D Greg Pateryn (free agent, Dallas)

Key Subtractions: F Matt Cullen (free agent, Pittsburgh), F Tyler Ennis (buyout, Toronto), D Kyle Quincey (free agent, HIFK, SM-liiga), F Daniel Winnik (free agent, PTO with Boston)

[Related: Wild Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: F Eric Staal – Two years ago, Staal’s decision to join Minnesota largely flew under the radar.  His first season in Minnesota was stronger than most expected with 65 points but his follow up was even more surprising; last year, he led the team in scoring with 42 goals and 76 points.

What does he have in store for an encore?  His camp along with new GM Paul Fenton have agreed to put off discussions regarding a possible extension until sometime during the season so it’s clear that Fenton wants to see if this jump in production is at least somewhat sustainable or if he’s going to revert to his level of production towards the end of his time in Carolina.

From the perspective of the Wild, the 33-year-old is a key cog of their attack and they will be counting on him to provide a lot of offense, even if a dip in production is likely.  Around the league, however, eyes will be on Staal to see if he shows that he could still be a top-six producer for a little while yet.  If he plays well again this season, he’ll be one of the top centers eligible to hit the open market if no in-season extension is reached.  Given the demand for quality pivots, a strong showing would put him in line for a nice raise on his current $3.5MM deal.

Key Storyline: When Fenton was brought in to replace Chuck Fletcher as GM, it was expected that he’d quickly put his stamp on a team that, for the most part, has stayed together over the last few years.  Instead, the new manager locked up the core restricted free agents and didn’t do much to the roster outside of adding some more grit in depth roles.

When will that change?  How quickly will Fenton look to make a move to change up the core if the team comes out of the gate slowly?  Minnesota has been viewed as an underachiever over the last couple of years which played a role in Fletcher’s ouster so it’s reasonable to expect that Fenton’s directive is to not be quite as patient.

Their limited cap space may be a factor if they want to make a move early on but Minnesota will be worth watching as they are a team that appears to be a candidate to make a notable in-season trade that shakes up their core group.

Overall Outlook: While Nashville and Winnipeg are the early favorites for the top spots in the Central, the final guaranteed playoff spot appears to be up for grabs.  St. Louis has made some improvements but the rest of the division (the Wild included) stayed fairly quiet over the summer.  Accordingly, Minnesota should contend for that final division spot and if they don’t land it, they will be in the mix for a Wild Card spot.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Zuccarello, Rangers, Nylander

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After Derek Stepan, Dan Girardi, Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller were all let go by the Rangers, Mats Zuccarello remained as one of the only long-time veterans left on the team. Set to enter free agency after this season, the 31-year-old understands that this could be his final season in New York.

“I think everyone knows that this is where I want to be, and if we figure something out, that’s my main goal,’’ Zuccarello told Colin Stephenson of Newsday. “But at the same time, if they don’t want me, there’s no point in me staying here if they don’t want me. Then I have to go.

“At the end of the day, it’s not up to me. I’ve got one year left on my deal and I’m here to compete and play well, and trying to do my best for the team to win as long as I’m here.’’

The winger is entering the final year of his four-year, $18MM deal with the Rangers, and he finished last season with 53 points.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NHL…

  • Rangers coach David Quinn said he isn’t worried about any of his team’s veterans, even if they may be skeptical of their future with the organization. “I really don’t,’’ he said (via Stephenson). “I just focus on coaching these guys the best I can and try and help them become better players. The contract situation’s really out of my control, and that’s how I look at it. It’s not my job.’’
  • We heard earlier this week that there hadn’t been any progress in the standoff between winger William Nylander and the Maple Leafs. However, Kristen Shilton of TSN tweets that general manager Kyle Dubas and agent Lewis Gross have talked over the past 24 hours. Shilton reiterates that teams have reached out to the Maple Leafs regarding a trade, but the front office has rebuffed the inquiries.
  • Every player placed on waivers yesterday – even surprise Ottawa Senators addition Zack Smith – ultimately cleared. 17 more players were placed on waivers today, and we kept track of them all right here.

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