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Minor Transactions: 02/18/23

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It’s a busy Saturday for hockey, with 13 games on the NHL schedule, including an outdoor contest. In addition, the final of the Champions Hockey League was today, with Finland’s Tappara Tampere triumphing over Sweden’s Lulea. As hockey fans across the world enjoyed all today has had to offer, teams in minor and foreign leagues have made some tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • Former New Jersey Devil Nick Lappin has been traded in the ECHL. He was part of a four-player deal between the Kalamazoo Wings and the Florida Everblades. Lappin heads to Kalamazoo after an underwhelming ECHL debut with the Everblades. The 30-year-old has 60 games of NHL experience on his resume, and was once a 30-goal scorer in the AHL, but managed just nine points in 24 games in Florida. He’ll get a fresh start in Kalamazoo, where he’ll hope to earn a potential path back to the AHL.
  • The other two pieces sent to Kalamazoo as part of the trade were rookie forward James McEwan and a player to be named later. This is McEwan’s debut professional season, and the Wings will be his third ECHL team of the year, as he began with the Orlando Solar Bears, was released after just one game, got 24 games with the Everblades and now has been dealt to Kalamazoo. McEwan was a solid contributor for the Guelph Storm in his OHL games and will look to translate his junior scoring to the ECHL level.
  • In return for those players, the Everblades received the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks’ reassignment of forward Carson Focht. The 2019 Vancouver Canucks fifth-rounder scored 21 points in 33 games for Kalamazoo, and will now head to Florida where he’ll get a chance on a playoff-bound team. Focht will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer as his $821k AAV contract with the Canucks will expire.
  • Former San Jose Shark Antti Suomela is reportedly headed to Switzerland for next season, according to Blick’s Gregory Beaud. The 28-year-old forward is a former Champion’s Hockey League winner who has been a star in both the Finnish Liiga and Sweden’s SHL. This past season, he scored a whopping 59 points in only 43 games played for IK Oskarshamn, including 33 goals. Per Beaud’s report, he’ll be playing for HC Lausanne next season, a major acquisition for the Swiss side.
  • The ECHL playing rights to former Soo Greyhounds star Billy Constantinou have been traded to the Atlanta Gladiators, per the ECHL’s official transactions page. The 21-year-old has been playing for the Norfolk Admirals most recently and has also spent time with the Wichita Thunder this season. He has 56 points in 91 career ECHL games and now heads to Atlanta, where he was for 16 games last season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Devin Shore

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The Edmonton Oilers have recalled forward Devin Shore from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. This move returns Shore to Edmonton after he was reassigned to Bakersfield a few days ago.

Oilers forward Klim Kostin missed the team’s shootout loss to the New York Rangers due to an illness, so should he be unable to play in the team’s game tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche, one would assume that Shore has been brought back to the active roster to fill in Kostin’s vacated lineup spot.

According to PuckPedia, this recall of Shore is as an emergency roster exception, meaning he does not carry a cap hit until the team either has 20 healthy players and/or sufficient cap space to count him.

Shore, 28, hasn’t played in the NHL yet in 2023, and last saw the ice for the Condors on January 28th. Shore has played in five AHL games this season, and scored five points in that span. At the NHL level, the 404-game veteran has scored three points in 29 games so far this season.

At just 8:42 per night, Shore averages the least amount of ice time by any Oilers forward this year with at least 20 games played. He has gotten a few looks on the team’s penalty kill, but in general coach Jay Woodcroft has used Shore sparingly.

Last season was a similar story, with Shore skating in 49 games for the Oilers, averaging nine and half minutes per night with over a minute per night played on the penalty kill. While Shore has two seasons of 30-plus points on his resume, that secondary offensive element to his game has largely eroded as he’s settled into the depth role he now occupies.

Without Kostin in the lineup, the Oilers were forced to play with an opening in their fourth-line left-wing roster spot. While Shore has operated more as a center throughout his professional career, he should be able to fill that spot on the wing next to Derek Ryan and Jesse Puljujarvi if he does end up getting into the lineup.

Snapshots: Blues, Orlov, Senyshyn

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The St. Louis Blues are not technically out of the playoff race, sitting 26-26-3 after today’s loss, but the front office decided that this wasn’t their year weeks ago. General manager Doug Armstrong spoke with Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his recent selling spree, moving Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, Ryan O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari over the last ten days.

As we have suggested in the past, the Blues aren’t guaranteed to use the draft picks they’ve landed this month. Instead, they could flip them for established NHL talents to try and reload this offseason. Armstrong admitted as much, explaining that the team needs to “retrench with players 25, 26, and under that have term on their contracts.”

  • The Washington Capitals are trying to work out an extension with Dmitry Orlov, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes that “term is a significant issue” in the negotiations. Orlov, 31, has a lot of miles on his body, with more than 750 NHL games (regular season and playoffs) in an 11-year career, and is probably looking for one more big payday as he nears unrestricted free agency. Coming off a six-year, $30.6MM deal, he is playing nearly 23 a night for Washington, who have been without John Carlson for a big chunk of the year.
  • Zachary Senyshyn has been traded again, this time in the minor leagues. The former Boston Bruins prospect was traded from the Utica Comets to the Chicago Wolves in exchange for future considerations. Ben Birnell of the Daily Sentinal gives some context on the deal, explaining that the Comets have had to sit a player all season, because of the rule that limits the number of minor league veterans that can be in the lineup at any one time. Senyshyn, 25, is approaching 300 regular season games in the AHL.

Nashville Predators Attempting To Extend Tanner Jeannot

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It seems there is still some speculation around whether the Nashville Predators will buy or sell at the deadline, despite general manager David Poile being rather clear with his comments a few days ago. One thing that is perhaps adding some confusion is that the Predators don’t have many pending UFAs to dangle at the deadline.

Selling, then, would consist of moving players with team control – though many of those also come with hefty cap hits. One that doesn’t (at least not yet) is Tanner Jeannot, on the second season of a two-year, $1.6MM contract and due for arbitration-eligible restricted free agency this summer.

According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Predators are trying to sign Jeannot to an extension. If they can’t, Poile is expected to re-engage with teams that had previously expressed interest.

In Jeannot’s case, arbitration may be what Poile and the Predators want to avoid. The 25-year-old forward had a breakout season last year, scoring 24 goals and 41 points, while racking up 130 penalty minutes and more than 300 hits. He finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting, and was considered a unicorn player in the league – tough as nails, with a scoring touch that could get him into the top six.

Things haven’t gone quite so well this year. Jeannot’s shooting percentage has dropped from a sky-high 19.4 to 6.0, and his production has fallen off a cliff. With just five goals and 14 points so far, he isn’t the same difference-maker, even if his physical style is still very effective in a bottom-six role.

The arbitration process might not see it that way though, with counting stats from 2021-22 being presented in favor of a substantial raise. The Predators then would have to bet on his production returning, which may not be a game they can play given how many other expensive contracts they have in place.

On the market, there would certainly be plenty of contenders who want to add Jeannot’s hard-nosed game for the playoffs, or even some bubble teams that have enough cap space to handle an arbitration award and want to add to their group. The Predators wouldn’t have trouble finding suitors if he ended up on the market. The New York Rangers, according to Brooks, are one of those interested teams.

East Notes: O’Reilly, Gaudreau, Dach, Wilson

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While it’s a frequent occurrence that a team acquires a player on an expiring contract and then quickly signs him to an extension, that won’t be the case for the Maple Leafs and center Ryan O’Reilly.  Speaking with reporters today (video link), GM Kyle Dubas indicated that there have been no discussions about an extension nor are there plans to do so.  Instead, the plan is to see how he fits in with his new team and then assess whether there’s mutual interest in trying to extend his stay with Toronto.  With more than $72.6MM committed to just a dozen players for next season per CapFriendly, it’s going to be quite difficult for them to keep their new middleman unless they’re able to free up considerable cap space this summer.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that winger Johnny Gaudreau will miss tonight’s game against Dallas due to a lower-body injury. That means his Ironman streak will come to an end at 349 games; only two players (Phil Kessel and Brent Burns) had longer active streaks.  Gaudreau hasn’t been able to put up the production he had with Calgary last season but still has 52 points in 55 games, good for an 18-point point lead on Patrik Laine who sits second.  Lane Pederson will make his Columbus debut in Gaudreau’s place.
  • The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that center Kirby Dach will miss his second straight game tonight against Toronto due to a non-COVID illness. The 22-year-old tried to take part in the morning skate but left just minutes in.  Dach has had a breakout year in his first season with Montreal as he has 12 goals and 23 assists in 54 games so far, good for third on the team in scoring.
  • The Capitals have activated winger Tom Wilson from injured reserve, reports NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been out for more than three weeks after blocking a shot off his ankle late last month.  Between that and his recovery from knee surgery last spring, Wilson has been limited to just eight games so far, where he has two goals, an assist, and 33 hits.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson To Miss Several Weeks

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It has been a tough season, to put it lightly, for Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.  It just got a little tougher as head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters including Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province, that the veteran will be out “some weeks” due to an ankle injury.

The 31-year-old has struggled considerably in his own end which has helped contribute to Vancouver allowing the second-most goals in the NHL heading into today’s action.  On top of that, Ekman-Larsson has underachieved offensively, scoring just twice while picking up 20 assists in 54 games, numbers that are well below what he was putting up with Arizona when he had a six-year stretch of recording at least 39 points.  As a result of his struggles, his average ice time per game has dropped to 20:11, three minutes below his career average and his lowest since his rookie campaign back in 2010-11.

Ekman-Larsson still has four years left on his contract with Vancouver being responsible for a $7.26MM cap charge; Arizona is covering an additional $990K.  With that much term remaining, it will be extremely difficult for GM Patrik Allvin to move him; carrying an eight-year buyout charge certainly isn’t ideal either.  There’s no good situation for the Canucks moving forward when it comes to the veteran and now they’ll be without him for at least a few weeks.   Christian Wolanin was recalled from AHL Abbotsford earlier today and could have an opportunity to get into the lineup fairly quickly.

Stars Recall Fredrik Olofsson

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The Stars have added some extra forward depth in advance of their game tonight against Columbus, announcing the recall of winger Fredrik Olofsson from AHL Texas.  Dallas had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made.

The 26-year-old is in his first season in North America after signing with the Stars as a free agent last May, inking a one-year, one-way contract worth the NHL minimum of $750K.  Olofsson was initially drafted by Chicago back in 2014 but didn’t sign with the team, allowing him to become a free agent.  He will once again hit the open market in July.

Olofsson has been up for two separate stints with Dallas this season, getting into 13 games.  He has held his own in a limited role, picking up a goal and three assists while averaging a little under ten minutes per night on the fourth line.  Olofsson has been a bit more productive in the minors, tallying five goals along with nine helpers in 37 contests.  Knowing he’ll be testing free agency again in a few months, he’ll need to make an impact if he wants a shot at landing another one-way agreement.

Washington Capitals Re-Assign Dylan McIlrath To AHL

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Saturday: McIlrath’s time with Washington has come to an end for the time being as the team announced that they’ve returned him to AHL Hershey.  He suited up in Thursday’s game against Florida, logging 11:31 of ice time in his first action since 2019-20.

Wednesday: The Washington Capitals recalled defenseman Dylan McIlrath from the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Wednesday, the team said in a statement.

McIlrath’s recall comes as Washington has two players out of the lineup on personal leave: captain Alex Ovechkin and Aliaksei Protas. The Capitals don’t expect Ovechkin back in the lineup this week, as he remains in Russia after the passing of his father, while Protas returned to the team today after the birth of his and his wife’s first child, said NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.

With Alexander Alexeyev already on Washington’s roster as an extra defenseman, the chances of McIlrath’s season debut appear slim, barring injuries. Now in his second season in the Capitals organization, all 118 professional games since 2021-22 have come in a Bears uniform.

The 10th overall selection in the 2010 draft by the New York Rangers, McIlrath hasn’t played an NHL game in over three years. Now 30, McIlrath has kept up the physical pedigree that earned him his lofty draft position, but his play with the puck never translated into a meaningful NHL role.

In 44 games with Hershey this season, McIlrath has logged 10 assists and leads all Hershey skaters with 83 penalty minutes.

Canucks Recall Christian Wolanin, Place Travis Dermott On IR

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The Canucks have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their tonight against Philadelphia, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Christian Wolanin from AHL Abbotsford while placing defenseman Travis Dermott on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.

Wolanin is up for only the second time this season with the first stint lasting less than 48 hours.  The 27-year-old has found another gear offensively in the minors this season, recording an impressive 55 points in 49 games.  That’s good for a tie for fourth overall in AHL scoring while he leads all blueliners by 10 points at a minimum.  Prior to this season, the most points that Wolanin had in the minors in a single season was 31.  He has 70 games of NHL experience under his belt with three different teams and has seen NHL action in each of the last five years.

Dermott, meanwhile, has had a tough season, missing more than 30 games with a concussion and now he’s on the shelf again having last played on January 25th.  When healthy, the 26-year-old has been limited to just 11 games where he has only a single goal while averaging 13:45 per game, a career low.  He’s in the final season of a two-year, $3MM contract and is owed a qualifying offer of $1.75MM this summer.  With his struggles and Vancouver’s cap situation, he looks like a potential non-tender candidate this summer.

Hurricanes, Oilers Have Discussed Jesse Puljujarvi Trade

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Earlier this week, the Oilers opted to drop down to a minimum-sized roster in order to get cap-compliant to activate winger Kailer Yamamoto from LTIR.  As luck would have it, the flu bug hit the team for yesterday’s game against the Rangers and the team wound up playing short a player as Klim Kostin was unable to suit up.  That’s not a viable situation for a playoff contender to have to navigate through for another couple of months before the season comes to an end so there has been an expectation that they will open up some cap space.

Jesse Puljujarvi has been widely speculated as the eventual cap casualty but, for the time being, they haven’t found a trade that works for them.  However, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reports that there is a belief that the Hurricanes have indicated that they are willing to move winger Ondrej Kase (currently on LTIR with a concussion) to Edmonton for Puljujarvi but only after the Finnish winger has cleared waivers.  That would allow Carolina to shuffle him back and forth between the AHL if needed while seeing if a change of scenery could help get him going.

It has been quite a fall for the 24-year-old who was the fourth-overall pick in 2016 but hasn’t come close to living up to his draft billing.  This season, Puljujarvi has been quite limited offensively, scoring just five goals along with seven assists in 53 games, hardly the type of production they were expecting after he posted 36 points in 65 contests just last season.  It’s also hardly the type of return they were hoping for from someone carrying a $3MM cap hit.

Clearly, GM Ken Holland still believes he can salvage some sort of positive value for Puljujarvi as otherwise, he likely would have hit the waiver wire already.  If he was to be claimed, they’d free up the full $3MM in cap room and if not, the proposed swap with Carolina would open up $1.5MM in regular cap room and $1.5MM (Kase’s cap hit) in their LTIR pool.  While that wouldn’t be a great return by any stretch, it would certainly give them a bit more flexibility to work with as they either look to add a piece by the March 3rd trade deadline or to bring someone back up from AHL Bakersfield to avoid having to play short a player as they did last night.  We’ll find out soon enough if Holland is able to find a better option for Puljujarvi than this one.

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