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Archives for January 2020

Minor Transactions: 01/03/19

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Just two games are on the schedule for today before a busy weekend in the NHL, meaning teams have time to assess their roster and make any changes needed. Even though there isn’t a ton of action, there are still some storylines to keep an eye on. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will be heading to Carolina to take on Andrei Svechnikov and the Hurricanes in a battle of two Metropolitan playoff hopefuls. We’ll keep track of all the minor moves as those teams and others get ready:

  • The Ottawa Senators have returned Erik Brannstrom to the minor leagues after acquiring Mike Reilly yesterday. Brannstrom obviously still needs some time to polish out his two-way game, even if he has flashed glimpses of the top-pairing potential he possesses.
  • With Victor Olofsson injured last night, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Scott Wilson from the minor leagues. There’s no word on the extent of the injury just yet, but the team is making moves to secure some NHL depth.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Justin Scott to the AHL, perhaps a sign that someone will be coming back for them before long. The Blue Jackets’ injury list is longer than their roster at the moment, but they’ve still won two in a row.
  • Nick Seeler is heading to the minor leagues on a conditioning loan, to get in some game action and stay fresh for the Minnesota Wild. The 26-year old has played in just six games this season and would be a difficult name to call as a replacement right now.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Casey DeSmith to serve as backup for a game, as they let Tristan Jarry rest and get ready for his next appearance. Jarry has performed incredibly this season for the Penguins, but is already approaching the most NHL starts he’s ever had in a single year. He’ll prepare to play the earlier start on Sunday. The team has also recalled Thomas Di Pauli.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned a trio of players to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Chris Wideman, Daniel Sprong, and Sam Carrick will all head back to the minors. Wideman was only recalled yesterday – his first call-up of the season – and Sprong on Monday, making it a quick stint for both.
  • Steven Kampfer cleared waivers back in early December but has still spent much of the past month in Boston. Yet, as the Bruins get healthy, Kampfer now heads back to AHL Providence, per insider Mark Divver. Kampfer will serve the second game of a two-game AHL suspension tonight, Divver adds.

2019 Year In Review: September

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of September which was extremely busy as training camps started to open across the league.

RFA Dam Breaks: Finally, we got a conclusion to the restricted free agent stand-offs all over the NHL. Players like Kyle Connor (seven years, $50MM), Patrik Laine (two years, $13.5MM), Brayden Point (three years, $20.25MM) Matthew Tkachuk (three years, $21MM), Brock Boeser (three years, $17.625MM), Travis Konecny (six years, $33MM), Charlie McAvoy (three years, $14.7MM), Mitch Marner (six years, $65.36MM), Mikko Rantanen (six years, $55.5MM), Ivan Provorov (six years, $40.5MM) and Zach Werenski (three years, $15MM) all inked lucrative deals to be ready in time for the start of the season.

Not Doing This Again: After the league watched teams be held hostage by their restricted free agents all summer, many decided to start locking up their young players early. Thomas Chabot (eight years, $64MM), Josh Morrissey (eight years, $50MM) and Clayton Keller (eight years, $57.2MM) all signed huge deals a full season away from restricted free agency, making them part of their respective organizations for the foreseeable future.

Byfuglien Suspended: While the Jets got their big free agents signed, one of their biggest players didn’t show up for camp. Dustin Byfuglien didn’t show up thanks to an injury and unmade mind, leading to a suspension from the team. The big defenseman still isn’t back with the team yet, but did file a grievance through the NHLPA for his lost salary.

Lockout Averted (for now): Speaking of the NHLPA, both the player’s union and the league decided against using their opt-out clauses for the current CBA, extending labor peace for at least a few more years. The two sides will have to come to an agreement again at some point down the road, but for now hockey fans can feel secure that there will be pucks dropped until 2022.

Kronwall Hangs Them Up: The Detroit Red Wings have seen their organization turn the page on the old and focus on the new the last several years, and with Niklas Kronwall announcing his retirement as a player, the last real vestige of the dominant playoff-streak team is gone. Kronwall didn’t go far however, joining Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings’ front office immediately.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Buffalo Sabres Trade Marco Scandella, Acquire Michael Frolik

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After trading away Mike Reilly, the Montreal Canadiens have gone out and found themselves a different defenseman. The Canadiens have acquired Marco Scandella from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for San Jose’s 2020 fourth-round pick. The Sabres then flipped that pick to acquire Michael Frolik from the Calgary Flames. No salary was retained in either transaction.

All season the Sabres had been looking to move one of their surplus defenseman to free up some cap space, and Scandella was essentially replaceable even if he was playing well of late. Buffalo has several other capable NHL defensemen, including some sitting in the minor leagues waiting for their opportunity. By moving the 29-year old Scandella and his $4MM cap hit out, they freed up enough room to bring in another forward that can help Jack Eichel create some offense.

Frolik, 31, comes to the Sabres after being the subject of many trade rumors over the last few years. There were times when it seemed he had completely run out of patience with the Flames organization, and times where they seemed to feel the same about him. Still, he continued playing for them and recorded 16 goals and 34 points in 65 games last season while providing solid penalty killing ability whenever asked. This season has brought ten points in 38 games, but given his average of fewer than 12 minutes a night it would have been difficult to provide much more offense.

In Buffalo, he’ll surely get a chance to be more of a contributor on that side of the puck. A Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, Frolik has actually been a relatively consistent goal-scorer the last several years, recording double digit totals in each of the last six seasons. If the Sabres want to make the playoffs this season they absolutely needed to add more scoring punch up front.

For Montreal, a team that may now be overlooked in this busy night, swapping Reilly for Scandella provides an upgrade in experience and defensive capability. While the young defenseman may be more mobile and at one point provided a little more offensive upside, Scandella is nearing 600 games played at the NHL level and should help their group find a little more balance.

The Canadiens have been relying heavily on their top three names this year with Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot all logging more than 23 minutes a night, but will hope that Scandella can take some of that load off their shoulders. The Montreal native also has a ton of experience on the penalty kill, where the Canadiens currently rank 25th in the NHL.

Scandella is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, meaning their overall moves have also removed an NHL contract from the books for next season when they are expecting prospects like Alexander Romanov to compete for spots.

Calgary also changes tonight, opening up some room of their own by ridding themselves of Frolik’s $4.3MM cap hit. That gives the Flames some extra flexibility of their own as they try to claw their way back into the Pacific Division race. The Flames will be a team to watch moving forward as they try to right the ship.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ottawa Senators Acquire Mike Reilly

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The Montreal Canadiens have traded Mike Reilly to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick and minor league forward Andrew Sturtz. The Canadiens then turned around and acquired a defenseman of their own in another deal.

Reilly, 26, hasn’t been able to establish himself as a full-time option for the Canadiens this season, despite some strong play last year for them when the team was dealing with injuries. Re-signed last June to a two-year, $3MM deal, the Senators will get some cost certainty in their new defender as they try to rebuild a defense corps.

In Ottawa, Reilly comes to a group that has dealt with injury after injury this season with the likes of Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey and Dylan DeMelo all going down for long stretches. With the latter two also scheduled for unrestricted free agency—along with Mark Borowiecki—there will be opportunity for Reilly to really set himself up as an everyday player.

Getting a fifth-round selection back for Reilly essentially replaces the pick they traded to the Minnesota Wild in 2018 to get him in the first place, and adds to the huge total that Montreal has amassed for the next few drafts. The Canadiens also clear a contract off the books for next season as Sturtz will be a restricted free agent and could very well go unqualified.

Chris Wideman Recalled By Anaheim Ducks

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For the first time in almost a year, Chris Wideman is back in the NHL. The former Ottawa Senators regular has been recalled by the Anaheim Ducks for the first time after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in the summer.

Wideman, 29, was once an analytical darling that many believed deserved more ice time in Ottawa, but things have collapsed over the last few years. After playing in 140 games between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, he’s suited up just 41 times since.

The last time he saw NHL ice was on January 5th 2019 with the Florida Panthers, but also spent time in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization after a deadline deal last year. In 26 games with the San Diego Gulls this season he has 19 points, the same level of offensive production that made him such an intriguing prospect in the first place.

Nathan Beaulieu Out At Least A Month

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2:00pm: Niku has indeed been recalled by the team.

1:10pm: It’s been a tough season for Nathan Beaulieu of the Winnipeg Jets, and it’s about to get even worse. The defenseman will be out at least a month with a lower-body injury suffered on New Year’s Even thanks to a shot block (or five).

Beaulieu has already missed half the season due to injury, only debuting at the beginning of November. His return was an important one for the Jets though, who have been devastated on the blueline over the last six months. It got so bad at the beginning of the season that Ville Heinola, their draft pick that is currently overseas playing at the World Juniors, was logging big minutes on the top pairing. Beaulieu’s new absence will test that defense corps once again.

The team does have Sami Niku and Logan Stanley waiting in the minor leagues, but their depth will still be tested over the next month.

Brendan Gallagher Diagnosed With Concussion

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The Montreal Canadiens have placed Brendan Gallagher on injured reserve after he suffered a concussion on Tuesday. He will be out indefinitely.

Gallagher was having another outstanding season for the Canadiens, with 15 goals and 32 points through 40 games. The scrappy 5’9″ forward has scored at least 30 goals in each of his last two campaigns and looked like he’d hit the mark once again. That puts him among rare company in the NHL these days, and makes him one of the most valuable forwards in the league given his $3.75MM cap hit.

Unfortunately, that pace will be stopped for at least a while. Hopefully Gallagher can bounce back from this injury quickly and be ready for a playoff push with the Canadiens, though they’ll have to start winning some games without him in the meantime. Montreal has lost their last three and now sit fifth in the Atlantic Division with an 18-16-6 record.

The Canadiens have ten games before the All-Star break.

Minor Transactions: 01/02/20

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After the Winter Classic brought several lasting memories, including Corey Perry’s long walk to the dressing room and a penalty shot by Denis Gurianov, the NHL is back to their regularly scheduled programming. Today brings 12 games and lots of intrigue, including a top matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. As team’s prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have sent Joona Luoto back to the AHL to continue his development. The 22-year old has played in 16 games at the NHL level but doesn’t have a point yet.
  • After starting the year on season-opening injured reserve, Anton Blidh is ready to get into some action. He’ll go to the Providence Bruins on a LTI conditioning loan, which sounds bad but is actually a positive step.
  • Jeremy Lauzon has also been sent to Providence by the Boston Bruins, after making his season debut earlier this week. Lauzon, 22, has ten points in 35 games for the P-Bruins.

2019 Year In Review: August

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of August which was the quietest of the summer months but still featured some news of note including the first step towards labor piece.

The Waddell Saga: It’s extremely rare that a current NHL GM interviews for the same spot with another team but that’s what happened with Hurricanes GM Don Waddell who interviewed for Minnesota’s vacancy.   As it turns out, Waddell was working without a contract in Carolina and thus was technically a free agent and free to pursue other opportunities.  While owner Tom Dundon was content to keep it this way, the league requires a GM to be under contract so they eventually agreed to a multi-year deal.  Meanwhile, the Wild went in a different direction and hired Bill Guerin to replace Paul Fenton.

Shattenkirk Bought Out: Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was a late entrant to the free agent market as the Rangers used a post-arbitration buyout on him.  While the move freed up more than $5MM in cap space for this season, the original front-loaded nature of the contract means that Shattenkirk will cost the Rangers just over $6MM on the cap in 2020-21 (yielding savings less than the league minimum salary).  He didn’t last on the open market for long though as he signed a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Tampa Bay.  He’s having a nice bounce-back campaign with the Lightning and already has 25 points on the year in 38 games after recording 28 points in 73 contests with New York last season.

Puljujarvi Signs In Finland: It turns out he wasn’t just posturing after all.  After requesting a trade earlier in the summer where his agent indicated he’d rather play overseas than return to Edmonton, Jesse Puljujarvi did just that, inking a one-year deal with Karpat of the Finnish SM-liiga.  The move did not affect his NHL rights as he remains a restricted free agent without salary arbitration rights.  Puljujarvi has made the most of his time in Finland as he sits in the top ten in league scoring with 13 goals and 17 through the first 32 games of his season.  The trade request remains in place and it will be interesting to see if his time overseas ultimately helps or hurts his trade value around the league.

Sens Lock Up White: Following a career season that saw him pick up 41 points, the Senators decided to eschew a bridge deal for Colin White, instead signing him to a six-year deal that carries a $4.75MM AAV.  The deal seemed like a more than reasonable price tag for a recent first-round pick (21st overall in 2015) that figured to be a fixture in their top six for the foreseeable future but it hasn’t quite worked out as expected yet.  White has struggled under new head coach D.J. Smith and has just three goals in 33 games this season despite averaging more than 16 minutes a night.  There’s still plenty of time for the deal to pay dividends though.

Ward Retires: After being unable to find a contract in free agency, veteran goaltender Cam Ward decided to call it a career but only after signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Hurricanes.  Ward spent all but one season of his 14-year NHL career with Carolina so the decision to retire with them came as little surprise.  While he never was able to become one of the elite goalies like it looked like he’d be following his Conn Smythe-worthy performance in his rookie season to help lead the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup, he still carved out a solid career for himself, playing in 701 games between them and Chicago.  Ward is the franchise leader in several categories for goaltenders (including games played, wins, and saves to name a few) and will continue to hold those marks for a long time to come.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Tortorella, Senators, Hajek

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Following his latest rant about officiating over the weekend, it was only a matter of time before Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella received a fine from the league.  That came down today as the league announced that they’ve fined him $20K plus an additional conditional fine of $25K should there be another similar outburst between now and December 29th of this year which basically places him on press conference probation.  The conditional element is a rather unique one but perhaps it’s justified as this is the twelfth time that Tortorella has been subject to discipline from the league – three suspensions and nine fines.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Senators appear to be getting one of their injured defensemen back for Thursday’s game against Florida. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes (Twitter link) that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev is likely to return after missing the last seven games due to a lower-body injury.  However, Ron Hainsey is likely to miss at least another week.  Meanwhile, netminder Anders Nilsson has resumed skating after being diagnosed with a concussion following his last start back on December 16th.
  • Still with Ottawa, GM Pierre Dorion told Garrioch that they expect defense prospect Lassi Thomson to return to North America next season. Thomson was selected 19th overall by the Senators back in June out of Kelowna of the WHL but opted not to return there and instead returned to Ilves of the SM-liiga this season on loan.  Thomson is currently at the World Juniors where he captains Team Finland and collected three assists through the opening round of the tournament.
  • While Rangers defenseman Libor Hajek is a part of their future core on the back end, he hasn’t finished his time in the AHL just yet. Head coach David Quinn told reporters, including Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post, that the 21-year-old is likely going to be assigned to AHL Hartford once he’s cleared to return from his current knee injury that has held him out of the last dozen games.  Hajek has at least resumed skating so his return may not be too far away.

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