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Ryan Kesler Cleared For Contact, Aiming For Season Opener

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At one point this off-season, there were major questions about Ryan Kesler’s health and whether the Anaheim Ducks center would play at all in 2018-19. While Kesler has a ways to go before he is back at 100%, he is certainly trending in the right direction and far from the doomsday speculation. According to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, Kesler has been cleared for contact and may even be available to the Ducks when the team debuts this season on October 3rd.

Kesler, 34, has been dealing with chronic hip issues for the past two seasons. After undergoing surgery during the 2017 off-season, Kesler began last season on the injured reserve and missed the Ducks’ first 37 games of the season. Yet, even once he returned, Kesler was still plagued by a sore hip and it showed in his play. He registered only 14 points in 44 games, saw a decrease in ice time, and was even forced to sit for a game and leave several others early. Kesler continued to rehab his hip this summer, but both he and the Ducks were unsure what the results would be in camp.

Per Stephens, Kesler’s performance to this point has been far better than expectations. Kesler has been skating throughout camp, but working separately from the rest of the team. That changed yesterday, when Kesler finally took part in line rushes and contact drills. Now the only question is how his body handles this increased workload. If Kesler is able to get back to full strength and work through a healthy level of pain management, then perhaps an opening night appearance is not out of the realm of possibility. However, working slowly and avoiding any further setbacks will be the primary focus of Kesler and the team.

Twenty Players Placed On Waivers

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It’s after noon Eastern and that means another round of players has officially been placed on waivers. This is day four that the NHL waiver wire has been open and so far 67 players have been exposed and just one – now Tampa Bay Lightning forward Danick Martel, formerly of the Philadelphia Flyers – has been claimed. Another 20 names have hit the wire today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie:

F Steve Bernier (NY Islanders)
F Reid Boucher (Vancouver)
F Paul Carey (Ottawa)
D Tommy Cross (Columbus)
F Zac Dalpe (Columbus)
F Tanner Fritz (NY Islanders)
F Nathan Gerbe (Columbus)
G Christopher Gibson (NY Islanders)
D Kevin Gravel (Edmonton)
D Seth Helgeson (NY Islanders)
D Keegan Lowe (Edmonton)
F Brad Malone (Edmonton)
D Jaycob Megna (Anaheim)
D Dakota Mermis (Arizona)
F Julius Nattinen (Anaheim) – unconditional
F Jim O’Brien (Ottawa)
D Ethan Prow (Pittsburgh)
D Ashton Sautner (Vancouver)
D Dillon Simpson (Columbus)
F Mike Sislo (NY Islanders)

The list today is largely devoid of any flashy names likely to draw a claim. The majority of these players are veterans of the waivers process, having cleared several times in the past. It is curious how many are recent free agent additions, including Carey in Ottawa and Gravel in Edmonton, each of whom were one of their team’s biggest off-season signings. Cross and Simpson are also new arrivals in Columbus who were expected to compete for depth roles on the blue line.

Young defensemen Sautner and Mermis are perhaps the two most intriguing names up for grabs. Both made their NHL debuts last season amid strong AHL campaigns. Carey, while a known commodity, may have the best chance of being claimed. The 30-year-old played in 60 games for the New York Rangers last year and has been a reliable checking forward during his career. However, 30 other teams had a chance to sign Carey this off-season and passed up the opportunity, so they won’t all be clamoring for his services now. Boucher has been through the waivers ringer before, but don’t expect another go-round for a forward who has the ability, but can’t seem to put it all together.

Edmonton’s dismissal of Gravel and Lowe could indicate that first-round pick Evan Bouchard and/or young puck-mover Ethan Bear are in line for a job with the Oilers. Gravel in particular was penciled in as the extra defenseman for the team, so his relatively early cut from camp is not without some significance. Gravel is just one year removed from starting 49 games for the Los Angeles Kings.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that Ducks prospect center Nattinen has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. No other details are currently available. Nattinen, 21, was a second-round pick not long ago in 2015 and was entering his second pro season. He recorded 12 points in 55 games last season for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/24/18

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Another day, another two or three dozen cuts on the way. As training camp and the NHL preseason continues on, teams work to pare down their rosters in anticipation of Opening Night. Keep track of all the releases and reassignments right here:

Note that players placed on waivers today are not included on this list.  They can be found here.

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

F Giovanni Fiore (to San Diego, AHL)
F Mitch Hults (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jack Kopacka (to San Diego, AHL)
G Angus Redmond (to San Diego, AHL)
F Deven Sideroff (to San Diego, AHL)
D Keaton Thompson (to San Diego, AHL)
G Roman Durny (to Des Moines, USHL)

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

F Michael Bunting (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Cam Dineen (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Dysin Mayo (to Tuscon, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

D Axel Andersson (to Djurgarden, SEL)
F Cameron Hughes (to Providence, AHL)
D Emil Johansson (to Providence, AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (to Providence, AHL)
F Tanner Pond (to Providence, AHL)
F Zach Senyshyn (to Providence, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

G Joe Cannata (to Colorado, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Vitaly Abramov (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Brady Austin (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Paul Bittner (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Garret Cockerill (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Ryan Collins (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Dan DeSalvo (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Maxime Fortier (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brett Gallant (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Nikita Korostelev (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Miles Koules (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Ryan MacInnis (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Joseph Raaymakers (released from ATO; to London, OHL)
F Justin Scott (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Kole Sherwood (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Blake Siebenaler (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Doyle Somerby (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Brad Thiessen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Calvin Thurkauf (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Trent Vogelhuber (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Justin Wade (to Cleveland, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

F Joe Veleno (to Drummondville, QMJHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter update)

F Cooper Marody (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Scottie Upshall (released from PTO)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

G Sam Montembeault (to Springfield, AHL)
D Riley Stillman (to Springfield, AHL)
F Owen Tippett (to Mississauga, OHL)
F Mark Letestu (released from PTO)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

G Peter Budaj (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (loaned to Frolunda, SHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Connor Brickley (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Troy Grosenick (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Jarred Tinordi (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter)

F Kurtis Gabriel (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Blake Pietila (to Binghamton, AHL)
D John Ramage (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Brian Strait (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Eric Tangradi (to Binghamton, AHL)

New York Islanders (per team release)

D Sebastian Aho (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Kieffer Bellows (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Michael Dal Colle (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Ben Holmstrom (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Josh Ho-Sang (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Jeremy Smith (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Travis St. Denis (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Parker Wotherspoon (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Noah Dobson (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)

St. Louis Blues (per team release)

D Chris Butler (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Klim Kostin (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Adam Musil (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Jordan Nolan (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to San Antonio, AHL)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

D Jalen Chatfield (to Utica, AHL)
F Jonathan Dahlen (to Utica, AHL)
F Petrus Palmu (to Utica, AHL)

Kings Loan Jacob Moverare To SHL’s Frolunda HC

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Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Jacob Moverare is on the move. After being cut from Kings camp and assigned to Ontario of the AHL on Saturday, the Swedish Hockey League’s Frolunda HC announced today that the 20-year-old blue liner will join their team for the remainder of the season. Moverare has played the past two seasons in North America with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads, but will now return to his native Sweden for the foreseeable future.

While it is not out of the ordinary to see a loan of this kind for a young foreign player, the circumstances are somewhat unique. Moverare is not a stranger to the SHL, skating in four games at the top level as a teenager in 2015-16; however, he was brought up in the developmental system of HV71. By now joining Frolunda, it seems likely that Moverare and his agent were given permission to negotiate a new contract in SHL, rather than simply re-joining his old squad. In Frolunda’s press release, Moverare acknowledges that he worked out with the team this summer and felt comfortable skating with the squad this year.

Moverare’s loan should not be considered any indication that he won’t be back in North America in the future. The 2016 fourth-round pick has shown considerable ability and is simply a victim of the numbers game for L.A. Moverare, a right-shot, puck-moving defenseman, plays a strong, competitive game and is known for his vision and positioning on the ice. In Mississauga, Moverare was a productive player who often paired with Vegas Golden Knights prospect Nic Hague to form a formidable duo. However, after missing time last season due to injury, the Kings made the decision that the best thing for his development this year would be guaranteed ice time, which may have been hard to come by with Ontario. Los Angeles has 16 other defensemen under contract, and even with seven or eight slated for L.A., it would have left at least nine in Ontario prior to Moverare’s loan. Rather than compete for ice time with NHL-ready prospects like Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, and Alex Lintuniemi or veterans such as Kurtis MacDermid and Paul LaDue, it makes more sense for Moverare to spend the season with Frolunda, where he will likely have a regular top-six role.

Five Key Stories: 9/17/18 – 9/23/18

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While the past seven days did feature as many significant headlines as last week did, there were still some notable stories around the league.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Bridge For Nurse: It took a lot longer than many expected but the Oilers gave defenseman Darnell Nurse a two-year bridge deal worth $6.4MM.  Given Edmonton’s salary cap situation that seems them now with less than $800K in cap room, this was always the anticipated outcome as locking him up long-term would have forced them to deal away someone else.  It’s worth noting that there is no back-loading in this contract as some players push for to yield a higher qualifying offer; instead, he’ll receive $3.2MM in each year with that amount serving as his qualifier in 2020.

Domi Gets Five: Max Domi’s first game in a Montreal uniform was a memorable one but for all the wrong reasons.  A punching incident involving Florida’s Aaron Ekblad in the third period of their preseason game resulted in him receiving a match penalty and after a hearing with the league, he was suspended for the remainder of the preseason.  The decision has received a lot of negativity with some suggesting getting a pass on the rest of the exhibition schedule ultimately is a reward to Domi and not any sort of deterrent for others moving forward.

More On Dotchin: Tampa Bay’s decision to terminate the final year of Jake Dotchin’s contract for a material breach citing poor conditioning caught many by surprise.  More information has started to come to light, suggesting he came in significantly overweight and with a very high BMI percentage.  It will certainly be interesting to see what Dotchin’s market around the league will be with this information coming out as it’s going to take a while for him to get into playing shape while the NHLPA still has to decide whether or not they want to grieve this case.

Bridge For Reinhart: Sam Reinhart was believed to be hoping for a long-term deal but he too had to settle for a short-term pact, inking a two-year, $7.3MM deal with Buffalo.  Last year was a tale of two separate seasons for him.  He was very slow out of the gate with just 20 points in his first 50 games but when the calendar flipped to February, he was much more productive, collecting 30 points in his final 32 contests.  It’s that type of inconsistency that likely played a role in Buffalo’s hesitance to commit a big-money, long-term pact at this stage.  Instead, he’ll look to show that his late-season play is a sign of things to come.  Reinhart will earn $3.55MM this season and $3.75MM in 2019-20 with the latter number representing his qualifier in the 2020 summer.

Four-Year Deals: While Nurse and Reinhart had to take bridge deals, that surprisingly wasn’t the case for Devils winger Miles Wood.  Despite having only 49 career points over 137 games, New Jersey signed him to a four-year, $2.75MM contract, buying out the majority of his remaining RFA years.  The 23-year-old had a breakout campaign in 2017-18 with 19 goals in 76 games and if he can repeat that production moving forward, New Jersey will have a bargain deal on their books.  Meanwhile, Montreal winger Paul Byron has gone from potential trade bait to part of the long-term plans after he put pen to paper on a four-year, $13.6MM extension.  He has turned into one of the top waiver claims in recent years and has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last two seasons.  Byron will play out the upcoming campaign on his existing deal that carries a cap hit of just $1.167MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 9/23/18

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While there has been no shortage of training camp cuts and waivers today, there have been some other small transactions around the hockey world.

  • Blue Jackets unrestricted free agent center Ryan Kujawinski has signed a tryout agreement with Calgary’s affiliate in Stockton, per a team release. The 23-year-old bounced around last season spending time with the affiliates in Arizona, New Jersey, and Columbus.  He was not tendered a qualifying offer back in June.
  • Former Canadiens prospect Connor Crisp announced his retirement via his Twitter account. He spent last season on a minor league deal in Detroit where he collected 16 goals and 14 assists in 44 games with Toledo of the ECHL.  Crisp dealt with concussion trouble during his time in Montreal’s organization and in his announcement, he mentions how he is still dealing with worsening post-concussion symptoms.
  • Veteran forward Jeremy Morin is looking to resume playing in North America. He has joined Washington’s affiliate in Hershey on a tryout basis, the AHL team announced.  Morin was a bit of a hockey nomad last season, spending time in Russia, Finland, and in multiple Swiss leagues, as well as a brief stint in the ECHL.  The 27-year-old has 82 career NHL games under his belt between Chicago and Columbus.

PHR Originals: 9/17/18 – 9/23/18

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Here’s a rundown of the original content here at PHR over the past seven days.

Our 2018-19 season primer series continues as I took a look at the Senators, Rangers, Islanders, and Devils, providing an overview of who’s in and who’s out as well as key storylines for the upcoming campaign.

Jake Dotchin’s situation has been one of intrigue.  Zach took a look at the precedent it would set around the league if it gets upheld.  The NHLPA has not formally grieved the contract termination just yet but they are expected to do so.

We’re up to the 13th overall selection in our 2006 redraft, a pick held by the Toronto Maple Leafs.  They didn’t make the best of picks originally with winger Jiri Tlusty and even though the top options are already off the board, there are several quality players left to choose from in our poll.

Gavin held his weekly chat.  Topics included projecting Miles Wood’s deal, a look at the Blues, centers that could potentially be on the move, surprise playoff teams, the Shea Theodore situation, and more.

In the salary cap era, it’s not too often that a Stanley Cup winner returns largely intact for the following season.  Zach examined the Capitals who really haven’t had a lot of turnover.  One place they may want to look at adding is between the pipes and Zach also took a look at some potential options for them if they look to upgrade on Pheonix Copley.

Eastern Notes: Green, Murray, Neuvirth, Schneider, Ferland

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The Detroit Red Wings have been without defenseman Mike Green since the Traverse City portion of training camp ended when Green complained of fatigue. However, the worst of it is behind him, according to Red Wings’ general manager Ken Holland, who says that according to a infectious disease specialist, Green is “on the backside” of a viral infection, according to Detroit Free-Press’ Helene St. James.

While there is no firm timetable of a return, the team is preparing for the upcoming regular season without Green’s availability.

“Once he feels better, we’ll gradually start to push him a little bit and if his body doesn’t respond, we’ll back off and wait a few more days,” said Holland. “It’s sort of like concussion protocol – slowly see how a player responds. We have no time frame for when he will rejoin the team.”

The team will likely keep two of their four defensive prospects to open up the season for Detroit in Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Libor Sulak. The Athletic’s Max Bultman (subscription required) handicapped each of the four blueliners chances of making the team.

  • Injuries continue to plague Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray, who has been out since Tuesday after getting kicked in between the legs in their preseason games against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline confirms it’s not a back injury, which has been an issue with him in the past, but a groin problem. He suffered a soft-tissue groin injury and could be out between a couple to a few weeks.
  • It doesn’t look like Philadelphia Flyers backup goaltender Michal Neuvirth will be ready for the regular season opener after injuring his groin on Friday, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. That likely means that the Flyers will start the season with Anthony Stolarz as the team’s backup to Brian Elliott, although Carchidi suggests that 20-year-old phenom Carter Hart is making a strong bid for the opening night roster. “There haven’t been many huge peaks or valleys in his play, and that’s a good place to start when you’re battling for an NHL job,” head coach Dave Hakstol said about the 20-year-old.
  • The Athletic’s Corey Masisak reports that New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider expects to go to Europe with the team for a preseason game in Bern, Switzerland, on Oct. 1. “We’ll see where it goes from there,” Schneider said. The 32-year-old goaltender, who is recovering from hip surgery practiced with the team’s second unit today and stayed on the ice for extra drills with Keith Kinkaid.
  • Michael Smith of NHL.com reports that Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland is dealing with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour said he will hold Ferland out of the lineup for the rest of preseason.

Central Notes: Fabbri, Crawford, Boqvist, Jokiharju, Wild

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St. Louis Blues winger Robby Fabbri may have avoided a scare today when he went down in the first period of today’s preseason game in Columbus with what the team refers to as a lower-body injury. While there is no word on the severity of the injury, the St. Louis Blues tweeted that head coach Mike Yeo reported that the injury is not related to Fabbri’s knee. In fact, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann tweeted that he saw Fabbri walking around after the game as if nothing was wrong.

Optimism had started to grow in St. Louis considering how good Fabbri has looked in training camp and the way he performed in his first preseason game. The 22-year-old showed promise with an 18-goal rookie campaign and had 11 goals in his second season before going down with a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the 2016-17 season. He then re-injured the knee in training camp last year and missed the entire 2017-18 season. After a rigorous rehabilitation of his knee, the team can only hope the injury isn’t too serious.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks got good news as The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) reports that goaltender Corey Crawford may be close to the next step in his recovery from a concussion last season. The scribe writes that Crawford may be ready in the near future to practice with the team after a positive report from goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. “Moving, progressing well, he had a really good day again today, getting closer,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “I think whether they ratcheted up a little bit more in the workload, but definitely in the right direction. Getting closer to hopefully in a practice.” Quenneville avoided questions on when that might happen, however.
  • In the same piece, Powers writes that both Adam Boqvist and Henry Jokiharju are both still in play to making the Blackhawks roster, although Jokiharju is a little ahead of the two. Quenneville said that Boqvist is expected to play in all of their three exhibition games this week to get a better look at them. While it’s possible the team could keep both players, it seems more likely the team will keep just one.
  • Dan Myers of NHL.com writes that the Minnesota Wild have been really impressed by the preseason line of Jordan Greenway, Charlie Coyle and Joel Eriksson Ek. That combination of players, who have center experience, have really found cohesion in training camp. The three are solid defensively, have offensive firepower and also give the team much needed size as Eriksson Ek is the smallest of the three at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Greenway, the least experienced of the group at center, has taken that position over and has fared extremely well. “They just work so hard and they’re all very big and strong guys,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Once they get on you, they’re like a dog on a bone.”

Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Drouin, Bruins, Outdoor Game, Lightning

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have been without winger Tyler Johnson for the last week after suffering an upper-body injury in practice. While the 28-year-old is listed as day-to-day, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns writes that Tampa Bay general manager Julien BriseBois recently hinted that Johnson could miss more time than originally expected, including possibly missing the season opener.

“We’re optimistic that he’ll be ready for the season opener but there are no guarantees,” Brisbois said. “In any event, we don’t expect this to be something that will be long term.”

Johnson is a key player on the Lightning’s top-six as he is coming off a 21-goal, 50-point season and the team needs him on the ice if it wants to make another Stanley Cup run this season.

  • Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that Montreal Canadiens Jonathan Drouin, who spent his entire summer working on his skills at the center position was a little surprised when they moved him back to wing on the first day of training camp. “I worked on centre stuff all summer, so I was a bit surprised,” Drouin said. “Starting the season it’s easier to go from centre to wing if you’ve played that. I just need to get my feet wet more a little bit and get back to that elite winger I used to be.” Drouin hopes returning to his original position will give him a chance to develop into the elite winger that Montreal thought they were getting when they traded for him last offseason.
  • The Boston Bruins are still making decisions on who will make their opening day roster, but no matter how you look at it, some very talented youngsters will find themselves on the outside looking in, according to Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports. The scribe writes that some players will have trouble making the roster, including defenseman Matt Grzelcyk as well as Anders Bjork. Grzelcyk played in 61 games, but could find himself in a seventh-man role or worse with the depth on the team’s blueline, while a shoulder injury has hindered the chances of Bjork making the team as Ryan Donato and Danton Heinen seem to have surpassed him on the depth chart. Bjork might get a chance to return for a preseason game or two, but is it too late?
  • NHL.com’s Bryan Burns writes that the Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik believes the team is closing in on the possibility of getting an outdoor game as weather in February may be good enough in Tampa to host a game. However, NHL executive VP Steve Mayer countered (via The Athletic’s Joe Smith) that by saying that while Tampa Bay is one of many teams up for an outdoor game, no decisions have been made yet. An announcement won’t be made until early next year.
  • Two players who were cut by the Tampa Bay Lightning are also going down injured as defenseman Daniel Walcott is expected to be out five to six months with a shoulder injury, while forward Kevin Lynch will miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, according to the Lightning. Both will eventually find their way onto the Lightning’s AHL squad once they have healed.

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