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AHL Shuffle: 12/03/21

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There are five games on the schedule around the NHL tonight, including the Edmonton Oilers traveling to face the Seattle Kraken. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are still battling away for the league scoring crown, with 40 and 41 points respectively on the year. The pair will try to one-up each other again this evening as they go against the team with the worst save percentage in the league (.874). As the Oilers and other teams prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • Jeff Petry will not be traveling with the Montreal Canadiens as he deals with an upper-body injury, which means Corey Schueneman has been recalled from the Laval Rocket. The 26-year-old Schueneman has played 18 games in the AHL this season and has seven points. A great story of perseverance, the former Western Michigan star signed a one-year NHL contract with the Canadiens in April. The AHL transactions page also has Laurent Dauphin coming up for the Canadiens ahead of their trip to Nashville.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially sent Petr Mrazek to the AHL on a conditioning stint, the last step before he returns to NHL action. The netminder has played just five periods so far this season for the Maple Leafs, allowing seven goals on 57 shots.
  • The Florida Panthers have loaned Olli Juolevi to the AHL on a conditioning stint, given he’s played in just a single game at any level this season. The 23-year-old was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks earlier this. year but has yet to make his Panthers debut.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have sent Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen back to the minor leagues now that Malcolm Subban has arrived. Luukkonen can continue to develop in the minor leagues while Subban, Aaron Dell and the injured Craig Anderson hold down the fort for the Sabres.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Max Willman and Connor Bunnaman under emergency conditions, with Joel Farabee absent from practice today. It’s not clear yet why Farabee is missing, but the team will have a couple of extra bodies in case he’s unavailable for Sunday’s game.

Central Division

  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Hudson Fasching, just a few days after sending him down. The 26-year-old is probably used to that by now, having bounced up and down from the AHL throughout his professional career. In parts of seven seasons, he’s played just 34 games at the NHL level.
  • Calen Addison has been swapped for Kevin Czuczman on the Minnesota Wild roster, per the team. The move is an effort to get Addison some more playing time with Iowa, where he has six assists in 10 games.
  • With Bowen Byram sitting out due to concussion symptoms, the Colorado Avalanche had no healthy extra skaters left. That’s changed, as the team’s recalled Jacob MacDonald from the Colorado Eagles. He has no points in three NHL games this season.

Pacific Division

  • Travis Hamonic was recalled by the Vancouver Canucks, now that they’re at home for tomorrow night’s game. Hamonic is reportedly fully vaccinated now and will be able to travel with the team on their next road trip.  However, the team sent Hamonic back to AHL Abbotsford later in the day so he may not travel with them just yet.
  • Per a team tweet, the Los Angeles Kings activated forward Akil Thomas from season-opening injured reserve and have assigned him to the Ontario Reign. The 21-year-old Thomas had 26 points in 40 games there last season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Calgary Flames Assign Juuso Valimaki To AHL

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The Calgary Flames have assigned defenseman Juuso Valimaki to the AHL’s Stockton Heat, per a team tweet.

Valimaki doesn’t require waivers, so there’s no chance of the Flames losing one of their best defense prospects. However, Valimaki’s cap hit is $1.55MM, and not all of that can be buried in the minors. It appears as though roughly $500,000 of Valimaki’s cap hit will still count towards the cap while he’s buried in the minors.

It’s been a tough start to the season for Valimaki, who hasn’t meshed well with coach Darryl Sutter and has played in just eight games, registering two assists.

He still has the pedigree and potential of a 16th overall pick, however. The 23-year-old was one of the team’s more impressive players last season, playing the full season with the team and scoring 11 points in 49 games.

The assignment to Stockton is an effort to get Valimaki into some more game action, as it’s not doing him much good to just sit on the bench.

The Flames still have Michael Stone, who’s played in just one game this season, to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman.

Minor Transactions: 12/2/21

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It’s been a busy day for news at the NHL level, with unfortunately a high number of COVID protocol placements over the past few days. It’s caused a ripple effect across leagues, with teams making rapid roster transactions in order to keep up. Here’s a list of today’s minor transactions across the hockey world:

  • Netminder Evan Fitzpatrick has been sent back down to the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Fitzpatrick was a high draft pick (59th overall) of the St. Louis Blues in 2016 but was left unqualified this offseason after some rough stints in the ECHL. He joined the Panthers on a PTO for training camp, didn’t earn a deal, but stayed in the organization on a minor-league deal. He’s having a much better start to this season – despite a 1-3-0 record, he’s posted a .927 save percentage.

Dustin Tokarski Placed In COVID Protocol

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Malcolm Subban can’t get to the Buffalo Sabres fast enough. The team has announced that Dustin Tokarski has been placed in the COVID protocol, forcing them to recall Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the AHL. Buffalo made a trade for Subban earlier today but will have to go with Luukkonen and Aaron Dell until he arrives.

Casey Mittelstadt has also been activated from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers.

It’s certainly not an ideal situation for Buffalo, given that Tokarski was the more reliable of the two they currently had healthy and in the NHL. The 32-year-old journeyman has a .903 save percentage in 14 appearances this season, compared to Dell’s brutal .862 in five games. While Luukkonen was always supposed to take over the net at some point, the issue so far has been his own struggles in the minor leagues. The 22-year-old netminder has an .888 in 12 appearances with the Rochester Americans, and adding Subban was very clearly about allowing the Sabres to keep him in the AHL to develop further.

Now with Tokarski out that’s not possible, at least for today. The team did not confirm whether Tokarski has tested positive for coronavirus, but if he has and is experiencing any symptoms, he’ll be held out for a minimum of ten days. That would mean at least five games, meaning when Subban does arrive, he very well may immediately become the NHL starter for the next little while.

Yan Kuznetsov Loaned To CHL

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It’s not that often that you see a player go from the NCAA to the AHL to the CHL, but that’s exactly what’s about to happen for Yan Kuznetsov. The Calgary Flames prospect has been loaned to the Saint John Seadogs of the QMJHL after 12 games with the Stockton Heat this season.

Kuznetsov, 19, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft after his freshman year at the University of Connecticut, and he returned in 2020-21 for his sophomore season. After the college campaign ended, he signed his entry-level deal with the Flames and suited up six times down the stretch for Stockton. The 6’4″ defenseman has failed to register a single point in 18 games for the Heat overall and will now get to test himself at the junior level, something that will only help develop his overall game.

Notably, he’ll be available for Russia at the World Juniors again, which would be his second time at the tournament, and also will likely play in the Memorial Cup given it is set to be hosted in Saint John this season. A trade could potentially change that obviously, but Kuznetsov will spend the rest of the year in the CHL competing against players his age.

Selected 22nd overall in the 2021 CHL Import Draft, this was always a possibility for the big defenseman. Saint John picked him after he already made his AHL debut, meaning they had an inkling he could end up back in junior at some point. He’s joining a team that is currently 12-8-3 on the year and in eighth place in the QMJHL standings, but still has big expectations. He’s also going to be joining fellow Calgary draft picks Jeremie Poirier and Ryan Francis, the latter of whom also made his AHL debut with the Heat last season before he returned to Saint John.

AHL Shuffle: 12/02/21

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Ten games grace the NHL schedule this evening, including the return of the New York Islanders after their short postponement. They will take on the San Jose Sharks at UBS Arena and are expected to have their captain in the lineup for his first home game in the new rink. It’s going to be a long climb back to playoff contention for the Islanders, but six fewer games played than several of their rivals, there is at least still a chance. As they and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Detroit Red Wings have sent Kyle Criscuolo and Dan Renouf back to the AHL, as the team has a few days off between games. The Red Wings will welcome in the Islanders on Saturday, but for now, can move a couple of names off the books to clear room and save money.

Metropolitan Division

  • Now that they have several players returning from the COVID protocol, the Islanders have returned Thomas Hickey, Richard Panik and Paul Ladue to the AHL. All three have cleared waivers already this season and are expected to spend most of the year in the minors.

Central Division

Pacific Division

This page will be updated throughout the day

AHL Shuffle: 12/01/21

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It’s December and the NHL schedule has six games set to open the month this evening. That includes the league’s rookie of the month for November, Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings, who took home the award after scoring 12 points in 14 games. That’s consecutive awards for Red Wings youngsters after Moritz Seider won it for October. The Red Wings will take on the Seattle Kraken this evening.

As they and other teams prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling:

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have sent Max Willman to the AHL, but he isn’t going alone. Wade Allison has also been activated from injured reserve and will head to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the time being. Allison, 24, played in 14 games for the Flyers last season and had seven points, but has been injured to start the year.

Central Division

  • Pavel Francouz has been officially added to the Colorado Eagles, as he works his way back from injury. The 31-year-old netminder hasn’t played yet this season and miss all of 2020-21. The last time he did play, during 2019-20 he was excellent, with a .923 save percentage in 34 appearances.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have moved Hudson Fasching back to the AHL, after seven games with the NHL squad this year. The 26-year old forward failed to score a point in those games, but does have 10 in 10 appearances for the Tucson Roadrunners.
  • After coming up yesterday, down goes Michael McCarron, who appears to be headed for the yo-yo treatment this season with the Nashville Predators. McCarron has already been involved in seven transactions since clearing waivers at the beginning of the year.

Pacific Division

  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Buddy Robinson from the AHL, where he has played 15 games for the San Diego Gulls. The 30-year-old forward has just four points in those games, but offers a big body for the Ducks to plug into the lineup if necessary.

Christian Wolanin Placed On Waivers

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The Buffalo Sabres have placed Christian Wolanin back on waivers, the place they claimed him from last month. The defenseman ended up playing just one game with the Sabres so far and needs to clear to be sent to the minor leagues. Should his former team the Los Angeles Kings claim him and are the only club to do so, they will be able to send him directly to the AHL.

Buffalo recently added Mark Jankowski on an NHL deal and are expected to get Casey Mittelstadt back from injury soon, meaning there needed to be a roster spot opened somewhere. Wolanin wasn’t being used anyway and has a real chance to clear, so the team has decided he’s the one to risk to the rest of the league. It’s not that he doesn’t have NHL experience, as Wolanin has played in 62 games at the highest level, but it’s been extremely inconsistent playing time to this point.

His biggest opportunity came in 2018-19 with the Ottawa Senators, when he ended up playing in 30 games for the team and recorded 12 points. Since then though it’s been up, down, and a lot of healthy scratches for the 26-year-old. Perhaps a team like the Edmonton Oilers or Carolina Hurricanes, both dealing with massive absences on the blueline, would take a chance, but it’s hard to see how Wolanin will get regular playing time in the league this season.

AHL Shuffle: 11/30/21

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Eight games grace the NHL schedule this evening, including the return of Jack Hughes to the New Jersey Devils lineup against the San Jose Sharks. There is also a prime matchup between two Eastern Conference powerhouses when the Florida Panthers take on the Washington Capitals and a battle between the teams that have won the last three Stanley Cup championships. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Connor Bunnaman and Max Willman back up from the minor leagues, in time for their game tomorrow against the New York Rangers. The team only sent them down yesterday, in order to save a bit of salary on an off day. General manager Chuck Fletcher did explain at a press conference this morning that Kevin Hayes should be back soon, meaning these two may not be needed for long.
  • With Hughes’ return imminent, the Devils have sent Chase De Leo back to the minor leagues. The 26-year-old, who is still the scoring leader for the Utica Comets, played in two games with New Jersey but failed to register a point.

Central Division

  • Michael McCarron has been recalled again by the Nashville Predators, after only going down yesterday. The big forward has played in six games for the Predators this season, but has yet to register a point.

Pacific Division

  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Vinni Lettieri from the AHL, bringing him back up after just a few days in the minors. The 26-year-old has played in three games for the Ducks this season, scoring two points.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Minor Transactions: 11/29/21

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Perhaps the American Thanksgiving break spurred some action in players and teams alike, as there has been a flurry of intriguing moves of late – and not just in the NHL. Keep up with the action in the minors, Europe, and more right here:

  • After clearing unconditional waivers on Thursday and seeing his contract terminated by the Nashville Predators, Patrick Harper has found a new home. HPK of Finland’s Liiga has announced a deal with the former Boston University standout for the remainder of the season. While Harper recorded 115 points in 128 NCAA games, that scoring touch has all but disappeared in the pros. He recorded only two points in 15 AHL games last season, which earned him a demotion to the ECHL, and was held scoreless through nine AHL games this game as well. Harper seemingly feels a fresh start in a new league could be the answer to this development hiccup – and at just 23 years old he could be right – but a move to Europe via contract termination isn’t a strong signal of a long career to come in North America.
  • Another college star at a crossroads is defenseman Will Cullen. After an excellent 2020-21 season with Bowling Green State University, Cullen was on NHL radars this off-season and could have signed an AHL contract. Instead, Cullen decided to extend his NCAA career as a graduate transfer at Miami University, likely hoping to earn an entry-level contract this spring. However, this lasted just seven games, as Cullen has departed the RedHawks early to sign an AHL deal with the Bridgeport Islanders. While this could be seen as just a delayed inevitability, Cullen’s late transition means that he will head to the ECHL to begin his pro career. He now has to climb a couple of pro ranks if he wants to make his way to the NHL. A puck-moving defenseman who logged 25 points and a +20 rating in 28 games last season, Cullen has the ability but needs to make the most of an unusual midseason transition.
  • NHL veteran David Booth is not quite done. After taking last season off, Booth is back in the game, signing in Norway where he last suited up in 2019-20. The 37-year-old has inked a one-year deal with Valerenga, the team announced. Booth last played in the NHL in 2017-18 with the Detroit Red Wings, but has spent five of his past six seasons in Europe after nine years in the NHL to begin his pro career. With over 500 games and 230 points in the NHL to his credit, Booth is still a major addition for Valerenga – or any roster in Norway – despite his age.
  • The WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes are potentially buying low on a 2022 NHL Draft prospect, hoping he can help turn their season around or at least become a core piece down the road. Forward Tristan Zandee has been acquired from the Calgary Hitmen at the meager price of a 2022 fifth-round pick, the Hurricanes announced. Zandee has desirable size at 6’3″ and 200 lbs. but has struggled to score in the WHL with nine points in 21 games in last year’s shortened campaign and only three points through 15 games so far this year. However, that hasn’t stopped some NHL Draft sources from eyeing Zandee as an intriguing prospect given his stature and previous production in the AJHL. Getting a fresh start in Lethbridge, Zandee could find himself with more scoring opportunity and a chance to boost both his development and his draft stock.

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