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Archives for November 2021

Justin Bailey Clears Waivers

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Nov 19: Bailey has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL.

Nov 18: The Vancouver Canucks have placed Justin Bailey on waivers, along with designating him for assignment. That means they clear the roster spot immediately, but Bailey will have to be assigned to the AHL should he clear tomorrow.

Now 26, Bailey has played in ten games this season for the Canucks but does not yet have a point. Originally a second-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres, to this point in his career he hasn’t been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL option. In the minor leagues Bailey is a top-level scorer, with 28 goals in 53 games during the 2019-20 campaign, but so far that hasn’t translated to the higher level. In his 78 career games, the 6’4″ forward has just five goals and nine points.

With Tyler Motte back in action, the team was carrying 14 forwards and were pushed right up against the cap. Sending Bailey’s league-minimum contract down would open up a roster spot and some cap space, perhaps letting them bring Jack Rathbone back up to join the defensive group.

There’s a chance he could be claimed, but with so many other forwards passing through waivers without a problem, Bailey seems like a safe bet to be assigned to Abbotsford tomorrow.

Darnell Nurse Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Edmonton Oilers have made official what Jason Gregor of TSN reported earlier today, Darnell Nurse is headed to injured reserve. Head coach Dave Tippett explained that Nurse suffered a “cracked finger” in overtime and will be out 2-3 weeks. The team has also moved Slater Koekkoek to injured reserve, who will be out 3-4 weeks. To replace them, Philip Broberg and William Lagesson have been recalled from the AHL. In a cap move, Mike Smith is now on long-term injured reserve, getting more tests done and is still week-to-week.

While Koekkoek’s exit from last night’s game was obvious, as he played just over three minutes, Nurse logged more than 31 in the win against the Winnipeg Jets. The team’s obvious No. 1, that’s already the sixth time this season that Nurse has recorded at least 27 minutes of ice time. An all-situations horse for the team, he had 11 points in his first 16 games and was showing that last season’s breakout was not a flash in the pan.

The Oilers rewarded Nurse with a huge eight-year, $74MM contract extension after his outstanding 2020-21 season, which saw him finish seventh in Norris Trophy voting after scoring 16 goals and 36 points in 56 games. Losing him now, right as the team appears to be taking the next step, is an absolute crushing blow to the group. Edmonton has won seven of their last ten games and sit alone in first place in the Pacific Division with a 12-4 record overall.

Now, not only will the team have to find someone to take those minutes, but it can’t even be Koekkoek moving up. Instead, it looks like Broberg, one of the team’s top prospects, may get his first chance at the NHL level. Drafted eighth overall in 2019, the 20-year-old defenseman can skate like the wind and has the size to compete at the NHL level, but some have critiqued his decision-making in the past. Those decisions will be even more important as he moves to the NHL after just 13 games in the minor leagues. Broberg had 10 points in those games with Bakersfield, after spending the last two seasons in the SHL.

After tomorrow night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers are set to hit the road for three matches next week. They aren’t in a particularly heavy part of the schedule though, with a three-day break after that road trip ends next Saturday, meaning they at least will be able to ease Broberg into the lineup with sufficient practice days. Still, it seems very unlikely that he or any other player on the roster will be able to have the impact that Nurse does, meaning they’ll have to find another way to lock down the defensive side of the puck over the next few weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AHL Shuffle: 11/19/21

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In typical Friday fashion, the NHL has just a pair of games on tap as teams prepare for a busy weekend. While there will certainly be fans watching to see if the Vancouver Canucks can show any semblance of structure, the focus of many will be on tomorrow night’s action. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling that happens ahead of the weekend.

Atlantic Division

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have assigned Alex Barre-Boulet to the AHL, confirming that the Lightning were the only team to claim him last time around. The team does not need to send him through waivers again after reclaiming him from the Seattle Kraken last month.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Kevin Stenlund to the minors, dropping the team to just 12 active forwards at the moment. That certainly could change by tomorrow’s game, which will see them face off against the Golden Knights.

Central Division

  • The Nashville Predators have sent Cole Smith back to the Milwaukee Admirals without him actually seeing any game action on this recall. The 26-year-old still has just one game under his belt at the NHL level, and is waiting for his first career point.

Pacific Division

  • Jason Gregor of TSN reports that Philip Broberg is on his way to the Edmonton Oilers, adding that Darnell Nurse has suffered an injury and could miss several weeks. The team has not confirmed the injury at this point, but obviously, losing Nurse would be a huge blow.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Sean Durzi from the AHL, sending Austin Strand down in his place. Durzi, 23, has been on fire for the Ontario Reign this season, posting 13 points in 12 games. The second-round pick from 2018 has yet to make his NHL debut.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent Benoit-Olivier Groulx back to the AHL for the time being, after suiting up for 15 games with the team this season. The 21-year-old has just three points in his rookie season and had been a healthy scratch recently.
  • The San Jose Sharks have assigned Nicholas Merkley to the AHL, as they activate Jeffrey Viel from injured reserve. Viel hasn’t played a game yet this season and is still looking for his first NHL point.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Sven Baertschi and Daniil Miromanov back to the AHL, suggesting someone will be available tomorrow when they face the Blue Jackets.

This page will be updated throughout the day

New York Rangers Looking For Middle-Six Forward

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The New York Rangers lost last night to the Toronto Maple Leafs, mustering up just one goal against the red-hot Jack Campbell. That lack of offensive output probably only strengthened general manager Chris Drury’s belief that his team needs an extra forward, something that was reported before the game by TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Rangers are after a “middle-six” forward, following the season-ending injury to Sammy Blais.

Today, Arthur Staple of The Athletic examines eight potential targets for the Rangers, including Calle Jarnkrok of the Seattle Kraken and Phil Kessel of the Arizona Coyotes. Those are obviously very different types of players, but Staple examines several others that should fall somewhere in the middle. Interestingly, the scribe also notes that a veteran defenseman is also on the Rangers’ shopping list.

In last night’s PHR Live Chat, the idea of another depth forward being the Rangers most pressing need was also touched upon. The team has been good through the early part of the season but has notably been outscored at even-strength. Their powerplay, helmed by top talents like Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Mike Zibanejad, has been dynamic, carrying them through several games with plenty of production. It’s past those few of skaters that things start to get a bit less rosy, as young talents like Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil have offered very little offense. Those three, in particular, have combined for just eight goals and 12 points, not quite what many expected heading into the season.

So another forward is on the mind of Drury, and he has plenty of ways to acquire one. The Rangers have extra second and fourth-round picks this year, plus more than $9MM in cap space. On an expiring deal, they could take on an expensive forward like Kessel or even someone that comes with a bit higher price in terms of future assets. The team is in a good place for buying, though they will have to consider the term when acquiring a new forward. Adding money to next year’s cap, when Zibanejad and Adam Fox both have huge extensions kicking in, would likely be a mistake at this point unless they are adding a key contributor.

Anders Lee, Ross Johnston Placed In COVID Protocol

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The New York Islanders are supposed to open their brand new arena tomorrow night, but they may be without their captain for the festivities. The team announced today that Anders Lee and Ross Johnston have been placed in the COVID protocol.

To be clear, the team has not confirmed that either one has tested positive for coronavirus. Entering the protocol does not necessarily mean they will miss tomorrow’s game, as we have recently seen in the case of Dylan Larkin. Larkin was removed from a game earlier this week, only for the positive test to be confirmed false.

Should Lee and Johnston be confirmed positives, however, with any symptoms, they would be unavailable to the team for a minimum of ten days. That would mean the full five-game homestand would be without their captain, not exactly an ideal situation given the circumstances around the new rink.

Kevin Labanc To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has some work to do today, as Kevin Labanc of the San Jose Sharks will have a hearing to determine supplementary discipline for his slew foot of Tyler Bozak last night.

Labanc received a two-minute minor for tripping on the play, which happened partway through the first period. Bozak appeared to escape serious injury.

Slew-footing has been a point of note with fans around the league this season, with P.K. Subban at the center of several incidents that resulted in injury. While Subban has only received fines to this point, a hearing suggests that Labanc will receive at least a one-game suspension.

For his part, the Sharks forward told Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group that it was not intentional and he was “just trying to battle hard.”

Arizona Coyotes Activate Ryan Dzingel

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As reported by AZCentral Sports’ Jose M. Romero, the Arizona Coyotes have officially activated forward Ryan Dzingel from injured reserve.

The Coyotes originally placed Dzingel on injured reserve on October 27th with an upper-body injury. He’s missed the team’s last 10 games.

Like much of the Coyotes squad this year, Dzingel was having an uninspiring start prior to the injury. He’s netted two assists in six games, averaging 13:18 per game. Dzingel is expected to flank Jan Jenik on the team’s fourth line in his return to the lineup, with Liam O’Brien on the other wing.

Still, those two points are tied for tenth on the team in scoring. The Coyotes have scored just 26 goals through 16 games en route to a 2-13-1 record. That’s just 1.63 goals per game.

The team hopes that Dzingel, a two-time 20-goal scorer, can help provide some scoring punch to the team’s bottom six. However, he’s got just 16 goals in his past 110 games as it’s been a really rough go for the former Ottawa Senator.

Injury Notes: Hayes, Golden Knights, Carrier

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Center Kevin Hayes didn’t take warmups and isn’t playing for the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as originally reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach Alain Vigneault originally expected Hayes to play and he nor the team have yet to offer an update on Hayes’ absence. Max Willman was recalled from Lehigh Valley today under emergency conditions and is in the lineup for that game. Hayes has two points in two games this season after missing the team’s first 12 games while recovering from offseason core muscle surgery.

More injury notes from around the NHL:

  • The injury parade continues for the Vegas Golden Knights, as The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports defenseman Shea Theodore is unlikely to suit up for Thursday’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Theodore fell awkwardly during the Knights’ last game Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, a 4-2 loss. The team hasn’t moved Theodore to injured reserve, but he joins Alec Martinez on the list of Golden Knights defensemen absent from the lineup. However, Granger notes that Zach Whitecloud is “progressing quickly” and could potentially suit up for the Detroit game.
  • Per Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes, defenseman Alexandre Carrier could return to the team’s lineup Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Carrier isn’t on injured reserve, but he’s been out of the lineup for the past week with an undisclosed injury. In 13 games this season, the 25-year-old has five points while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.

Joe Thornton Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Florida Panthers have activated center Joe Thornton from injured reserve ahead of Thursday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils, per Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards.

Thornton was placed on injured reserve on October 30 with an undisclosed injury. The night before, ’Jumbo’ played just 6:34 before leaving a game against the Detroit Red Wings.

In just six games this season, the 42-year-old Thornton’s got just one goal and a -2 rating but is still averaging over 10 minutes a night. Some added depth at center is a good thing for Florida right now, who is now without captain Aleksander Barkov on a week-to-week basis after sustaining a knee injury.

Expected to center the third line for the game against the Devils, he’ll be flanked by Frank Vatrano and Owen Tippett who’ve played well in depth roles, combining for seven goals and 14 points so far on the year. With the Panthers’ health issues, though, the lineups could certainly be in flux over the next few games.

Thornton joined the Panthers this offseason, signing a one-year, league-minimum deal on August 13.

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