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Archives for February 2021

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/26/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Adam Henrique from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, while sending Vinni Lettieri down to the taxi squad.  Henrique cleared waivers last weekend and is in the midst of a tough season with just three goals and an assist in 16 games.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned Patrick Brown back to AHL Henderson.  He was recalled to the taxi squad on Thursday but hasn’t played in the NHL this season.  He has a goal and an assist in four games with the Silver Knights this season.

North Division

  • The Ottawa Senators have kicked things off with their daily roster move, re-assigning Erik Brannstrom to the taxi squad. The young defenseman will be joined there by Filip Gustavsson, who is taking over the taxi squad goaltender from Kevin Mandolese for the time being. Brannstrom scored another goal last night for the Senators and will likely be back up by their next game.
  • The Calgary Flames have assigned Glenn Gawdin and Zac Rinaldo to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Gawdin made his NHL debut last weekend and has played in four games since while Rinaldo has played just once this season, logging only 2:04 of ice time.
  • The Montreal Canadiens returned Paul Byron to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The move extends Byron’s waiver exemption and saves a bit of cap space although he’ll likely be recalled in advance of Saturday’s game against Winnipeg.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs returned Joseph Woll to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He has been dressing as the backup goalie this week on an emergency recall although with Jack Campbell being close to returning, Woll may just remain with the taxi squad until Frederik Andersen returns.

Central Division

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Veini Vehvilainen from the AHL, sending Gavin Bayreuther and Matiss Kivlenieks back in his stead. The Cleveland Monsters play a back-to-back against the Rockford IceHogs over the weekend.
  • The Dallas Stars have moved Landon Bow and Rhett Gardner back onto the taxi squad after Bow served as the backup last night. The 25-year-old goaltender hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since the 2018-19 season.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Tanner Jeannot to the taxi squad, rewarding a young player that is off to a blistering start in the minor leagues. Jeannot has eight points through his first six games for the Chicago Wolves. The team has also sent Sean Malone back to the AHL, while moving Eeli Tolvanen and Ben Harpur to the taxi squad for the time being.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks made several roster moves today, sending Nicolas Beaudin from the NHL roster to AHL Rockford along with Wyatt Kalynuk and Reese Johnson, who were loaned from the taxi squad.  Brad Morrison, Mikael Hakkarainen, and Matt Tomkins were all recalled to the taxi squad from the IceHogs, the latter being required with Collin Delia being sent to Rockford on a conditioning assignment.  He will officially remain on Chicago’s roster while he’s down there.
  • The Detroit Red Wings continued their daily Mathias Brome moves, assigning the winger back to the taxi squad.  He has been sent there on ten separate occasions this season but has played in all but two games with Detroit this season.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes assigned Jake Bean and Steven Lorentz to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Both players suited up on Thursday against Tampa Bay and could be brought back with the team set to play Florida tomorrow.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning returned Gemel Smith to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  He played just over nine minutes versus Carolina and will likely be brought back up on Saturday.

East Division

  • The Washington Capitals have sent Ilya Samsonov back to the AHL, where the Hershey Bears have a game tonight against the Binghamton Devils. Samsonov has played three AHL games as he works his way back, but hasn’t fared all that well, posting an .859 save percentage.
  • The New Jersey Devils have assigned Matt Tennyson to the AHL, recalling Joshua Jacobs in his place. Jacobs, 25, played in two games for the Devils last season but has been in the minor leagues for the vast majority of his professional career.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins shuffled up their taxi squad, sending Jordy Bellerive to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while sending Josh Currie down to the taxi squad.  Both had been up on the taxi squad since last Friday but hadn’t seen any game action with Currie getting a one-day stint on the NHL roster yesterday.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have returned Rasmus Asplund and Jacob Bryson to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Both players were brought up on Thursday and could be recalled again with a pair of games against Philadelphia on tap this weekend.
  • The New York Islanders have sent Oliver Wahlstrom back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  It’s a familiar assignment for the 20-year-old who has four points in a dozen games so far this season.
  • The New York Rangers made another large series of roster moves, recalling Colin Blackwell, Libor Hajek, and Jonny Brodzinski from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Tarmo Reunanen and Tim Gettinger were recalled to the taxi squad from AHL Hartford.
  • With Jakub Voracek, Oskar Lindblom, and Scott Laughton all being instated, the Philadelphia Flyers returned Connor Bunnaman and Andy Andreoff to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Meanwhile, Isaac Ratcliffe was assigned to Lehigh Valley of the AHL.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Vancouver Canucks Looking For Young Forward

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The Vancouver Canucks will take the ice tonight on a three-game losing streak and in danger of falling even further behind in the North Division standings. The team has already been on the wrong end of the scoreboard in 15 of their 23 games and is spiraling out of control with a 2-6-2 record in their last ten. With that–not to mention previous reports that Jake Virtanen and Adam Gaudette were on the block–in mind, it comes as no surprise that GM Jim Benning is calling all around the league for a temperature check well before the midseason trade deadline.

Pierre LeBrun reported as much on the latest Insider Trading for TSN:

[Benning] certainly has been busy. There hasn’t been a result yet but I can tell you from talking to teams around the league that isn’t a single team that hasn’t heard from Jim Benning over the last couple weeks. Really this is more about doing his due dilligence and knowing what’s out there ahead of April 12, still lots of time. But right now, with so many teams in LTIR it’s so difficult to make an ’apples for apples’ trade, but if he can, what he’s looking for is a top-nine forward in that age 25-and-younger group that can fit with his young core.

Virtanen and Gaudette of course both fit that designation at 24, but seemingly don’t work with the group at this time. Whether they could be flipped by players around the same age with the same potential isn’t clear, but Benning is obviously trying his best to improve the squad while also keeping an eye on the future.

It’s that pesky salary cap that will be a tough obstacle for the Canucks or whoever they want to trade with. Vancouver is deep into LTIR already with Micheal Ferland, Travis Hamonic, and Tyler Motte all sidelined. So are 16 other teams in the league, making every deal complicated from a financial standpoint as well as a performance one.

Even though it feels like nothing but doom for the Canucks right now, it’s important to remember that they do still have high-level pieces like Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander,  and Quinn Hughes to build around. Sure, two of those players are set to become restricted free agents at the end of this season, but just because they’re going to get paid doesn’t mean they will disappear.

If Benning can land another player to develop and grow with them, filling the expectations that many had for Virtanen, it would go along way to helping the Canucks turn things around. If he can’t, well, they’re still ahead of Ottawa (for now).

Sharks-Golden Knights Game Postponed

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Feb 25: The Sharks have released a statement on their future schedule:

As of Thursday afternoon, no additional tests have come back as confirmed positives. If the team and staff continue to receive negative results, the NHL and NHLPA have approved the team’s resumption of practice on Friday. In such event, Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues will move forward as scheduled. 

The San Jose Barracuda have also received no positive test results and are also scheduled to resume practicing on Friday, and will host the Ontario Reign on Saturday at Sharks Ice at San Jose. 

Tomas Hertl remained the only Sharks player on the COVID Protocol list today.

Feb 24: Tomorrow’s San Jose Sharks-Vegas Golden Knights game has been postponed after a Sharks player entered the COVID Protocols earlier today. The league will continue to analyze the test results of the rest of the team in the coming days. Further precautions:

As an appropriate precaution, the team’s training facilities have been closed, effective immediately, and will remain closed until further notice. The League is in the process of reviewing and revising the Sharks’ regular season schedule. The Sharks’ organization has, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state and national agencies.

It appears as though the league is reacting more proactively when a player enters the protocol, as previously teams were allowed to continue playing games. Widespread transmission appeared to occur in those contests as both the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres had outbreaks, though that obviously can’t be confirmed. In this case, the two teams will not play.

The list of postponed games in the NHL continues to grow, with this being the 40th game that will need rescheduling. In fact, tomorrow’s game was actually a reschedule of an earlier game missed between the two teams. Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports that the AHL will also postpone tomorrow’s San Jose Barracuda game out of an abundance of caution.

Ethan Bear Activated Off Injured Reserve

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The Edmonton Oilers have shot up the North Division standings of late, winning their last four and passing every Canadian team not named the Maple Leafs. They’ve had all that success without the services of young defenseman Ethan Bear, who hasn’t played since January with a head injury. Bear was struck with the puck (while sitting on the bench) and has been on injured reserve for the last three weeks. That IR stint ended today as the Oilers activated him ahead of tonight’s match against the Vancouver Canucks.

Bear, 23, had an outstanding season in 2019-20, racking up 21 points in 71 games and actually finishing tenth in the Calder Trophy voting as the league’s best rookie. While this year wasn’t going quite as smoothly in the early going, he was still averaging more than 20 minutes a night for the Oilers as an efficient puck-moving option. His return will only strengthen a back end that has still allowed too many goals against, getting the puck quickly up to those all-world forwards.

To make room, the team has moved William Lagesson to injured reserve, likely retroactive to his last game on February 15. Even if he was healthy and playing, most Oilers fans would happily swap him out for Bear.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/25/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here are today’s results:

NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom
San Jose – Tomas Hertl

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers have cleared one more player off their board and are inching their way to having a full contingent again.

Really the best news of the day is that Hertl remains alone on the Sharks list. The league preemptively postponed tonight’s game against the Golden Knights after he entered the protocol and hopefully any spread has been contained.

*denotes new addition

Latest On Jeff Skinner

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Often, a big regulation win can calm the sea for a team that’s trying to bail water from a sinking ship. The Buffalo Sabres got that kind of a win on Tuesday night when they dispatched the New Jersey Devils 4-1, but it took 41 saves from Linus Ullmark and there still wasn’t a goal from their two top forwards. Their ankles, at least, still seem to be submerged.

Today, after sitting out the last three games as a healthy scratch, Jeff Skinner was absent from the morning skate. The $72MM dollar man seems completely forgotten by head coach Ralph Krueger, who denied having a “doghouse” today but didn’t share any real insight on the situation. That doesn’t mean people aren’t looking for answers.

Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that Skinner’s agent, Don Meehan of Newport Sports, had a “lengthy conversation” on Wednesday with Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, expressing his concerns over the situation.

It has been an incredible fall from grace for Skinner, who signed his eight-year, $72MM deal with the Sabres in 2019 after scoring 40 goals in his first year in Buffalo. Those goals mostly came while riding shotgun with Jack Eichel, but it’s not like it was the first time he had performed at the NHL level. Skinner had been a 30+ goal scorer on three previous occasions, including a 37-goal campaign in 2016-17.

But after signing it, and since Krueger took over as head coach, Skinner has just 14 goals and 24 points in 73 games. He now finds himself out of the lineup completely, certainly not something he expected after 734 career NHL games and at the age of 28.

So to hear that concerns were expressed shouldn’t come as a shock, not at this point.

But what can be done? The Sabres would likely have to eat a huge portion of the deal to trade Skinner, and even that would have further complications. The player holds a no-move clause, meaning his camp would have to be involved in the conversation, and very few teams are looking to add salary right now. Though Skinner’s money drops off at the end of the deal, he’s still owed $10MM in each of the next four seasons.

One has to wonder whether a buyout, as historic as it would be, is a possibility at this point. The money would be paid out over 12 seasons, but the highest cap charge would be in 2022-23 at $8.97MM. Two other seasons would have boosted numbers, but the vast majority would have something under $2.5MM. That’s doable, especially for a team that doesn’t really look close to contending anyway.

A move like that is far down the road–the buyout window doesn’t open until the summer–but it’s obvious there needs to be some kind of resolution to this issue. The best solution would be Skinner getting back to his top-six, goal-scoring ways; but that seems like an era ago at this point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Maple Leafs Confirm Broken Foot For Rasmus Sandin

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If the Toronto Maple Leafs were planning on recalling top prospect Rasmus Sandin at any point this season, it’ll have to wait. The young defenseman suffered a foot injury earlier this month and after further examination, the team has confirmed it is a fracture. Sandin will be re-evaluated in mid-March, according to the club, at which point they’ll provide a further update on his recovery timeline.

Sandin, 20, ended up playing just one game for the Maple Leafs and one (partial) game for the Toronto Marlies before his injury. He did record a point in his NHL appearance but played only five minutes in the game as one of seven defensemen dressed.

The Maple Leafs were hoping that Sandin could go to the minor leagues and play big minutes, continuing his development until a spot opened on the NHL club. Unfortunately, this injury means he’ll miss a good chunk of the shortened AHL season. It’ll be almost an entire year of lost development time (at least in terms of game action), since Sandin was injured at the time of the 2019-20 season suspension as well. Not ideal for a top prospect.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/25/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

  •  The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Patrick Brown and Logan Thompson to the taxi squad, now that they’re a day closer to getting back into action against the Anaheim Ducks. The team doesn’t have to play the game that they expected today after the latest league postponement.

North Division

Central Division

East Division

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Snapshots: Zucker, Bertuzzi, Ducks

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While the Penguins sent winger Jason Zucker back to Pittsburgh today to be evaluated, it appears they’re not particularly optimistic that his absence will be a short one.  Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that while they’re hopeful his lower-body injury isn’t as bad as they initially feared, they are preparing to be without the 29-year-old for an extended period of time.  Zucker is off to a quiet start to the season by his standards with just four goals and three assists in 17 games but his absence will open up a vacancy in their top-six.  If he’s going to miss more than 10 games or 24 days, he’ll be eligible to be placed on long-term injured reserve, giving them some short-term cap flexibility to recall a replacement.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Red Wings have been without winger Tyler Bertuzzi for all of February and it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be back anytime soon. Head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), that he has “no idea” when the 26-year-old will be able to return.  Bertuzzi was off to a strong start to his season with five goals and two assists in eight games and with his contract expiring this summer, missing this much time isn’t going to give him the type of platform season he was hoping for.
  • The Ducks activated Sonny Milano from IR and recalled him from his AHL conditioning loan, relays Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). The winger suffered an upper-body just a week into the season, limiting him to just two games.  He was quietly productive after joining Anaheim last season with five points in nine contests, making him an intriguing addition to a lineup that has struggled mightily offensively in the early going.  The team also placed winger Carter Rowney on IR due to a lower-body injury.  While the veteran is known more as a bottom-six player, he’s tied for the team lead in assists with six in 19 games.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Washington Capitals

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We’ve made it past the holiday season but there is still plenty to be thankful for. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this season comes with a bit of a change. Typically at this time of the calendar year, the trade deadline is fast approaching but now, we’re only at the one-quarter mark.  Still, we’ll analyze what they’re happy about so far and what they can be hoping for in the months to come.

What are the Capitals most thankful for?

A consistent stream of firepower.  While a few players have come and gone due to salary cap constraints, the majority of Washington’s core has been intact for a while.  The end result has been plenty of offense.  The Caps are in the top ten in goals scored this season and that’s a spot they’ve been in for a while.  You have to go back all the way to 2013-14 to find the last time they weren’t in the top-ten in that department (they were 11th that year).  Yes, it’s an expensive core which has presented some challenges for GM Brian MacLellan along the way but it’s also an enviable foundation to build from and knowing that there’s a top-ten attack year in and year out certainly makes things a bit easier from a roster-building perspective.

Who are the Capitals most thankful for?

Alex Ovechkin would be the best answer but there will be more on him shortly.  Instead, let’s look at another significant offensive threat in John Carlson.  He’s the one Washington defender that produces with any offensive consistency; he almost has as many goals so far this season (five) as the rest of their back end combined (six).  Last year, he outscored the rest of Washington’s blueliners 15-11 while leading the team in points.  Carlson’s defensive zone play has also improved and it has reached the point where his $8MM price tag went from being viewed as a reasonable gamble to an outright bargain.  He was the Norris Trophy runner up last season and should be in the mix for that award for a few more years.

What would the Capitals be even more thankful for?

Getting an extension done with Ovechkin.  He has been their franchise player since the moment he first set foot in the league back in 2005 and the 13-year, $124MM contract he signed back in 2008 that seemed a bit outlandish at the time has wound up yielding a lot of value for the Caps.  Ovechkin has committed to re-signing with Washington although his playing career is likely to come to an end back in Russia.  Even so, it’s something that MacLellan will want to get done sooner than later just to get a sense of what their salary cap situation will be down the road.  They’re not in a position to ask him to take a significant hometown discount and his next contract may very well come in close to his current $9.538MM AAV.  They can wait until the offseason if they need to but getting it done now would certainly make everyone thankful.

What should be on the Capitals’ wish list?

With cap space at an absolute premium right now – they can’t afford to recall anyone right now even with Henrik Lundqvist and Michal Kempny’s LTIR room, MacLellan’s hands may ultimately be tied in terms of trying to add anything by the April 12th trade deadline.  But if the opportunity presents itself, adding center depth would be a worthwhile addition.  When Evgeny Kuznetsov was on the CPRA list, the Caps were forced to turn to T.J. Oshie down the middle and they don’t really have any reliable proven options on the taxi squad or with AHL Hershey right now.  They have high hopes for Connor McMichael who could be their best option for any extended absence but as a junior-aged player, that would be a tough ask.  Finding someone that could cover in the bottom six and allow Lars Eller to move up if necessary would be a great luxury to have – if only they could afford it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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