Stephen Johns Sent On AHL Conditioning Stint
After missing the entire 2018-19 season and everything so far in 2019-20, Stephen Johns is ready to get back on the ice. The Dallas Stars defenseman has been loaned to the AHL’s Texas Stars on a conditioning assignment. The last professional game Johns played was on March 29th, 2018. He has been out with post-traumatic headaches for the last year and a half.
Johns, 27, was the other piece that came to Dallas alongside Patrick Sharp in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, before he had ever played in the NHL. After being selected 60th overall by the Blackhawks in 2010, Johns had spent four years at Notre Dame and then a full season in the minor leagues. Though he had found success at both stops, there was no guarantee he would ever really become a regular at the NHL level. That quickly changed however, as Johns made his NHL debut the next season for Dallas and would work his way into the lineup on a nightly basis soon after that (even if injuries did help open some opportunities along the way). Between 2016-17 and 2017-18 he played in 136 games for the Stars, registering 25 points.
It wasn’t offense that stood out when watching Johns however. His 6’4″ frame could move well around the ice and he was absolutely fearless when engaging physically or blocking shots. In 2017-18 he easily led Dallas in hits and blocks, despite averaging just over 17 minutes a night. Add that to the fact that he is right-handed and has a little more skill with the puck than many give him credit for, and he becomes an intriguing package that any team could use on the back end.
There’s no clear timeline for his return to the NHL, but it is great to see Johns getting back into some game action. Hopefully he’ll be able to return to Dallas before long.
Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators Make Minor Swap
Laurent Dauphin is on the move again, but this time it is much closer to home. The Nashville Predators forward has been traded to the Montreal Canadiens, the fourth trade of his young career. Dauphin is on a one-year two-way contract, signed last February with the Predators after they acquired him from the Arizona Coyotes. The Predators will receive Michael McCarron in return.
Originally selected by the Coyotes in the second round in 2013, Dauphin was first dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the Niklas Hjalmarsson trade. Then, just seven months later, he was sent back to Arizona as part of a swap that saw Richard Panik and Anthony Duclair switch teams. Through all of that he has only ever played in the NHL for the Coyotes, suiting up for 35 total games over parts of four seasons.
That lack of experience, plus the fact that Dauphin will turn 25 in March, likely means he’s ticketed for assignment to the Laval Rocket. He cleared waivers before the season began and can be sent directly to the AHL, where he’ll give the team another option at forward.
They’ll need it as the Canadiens organization finally moves on from McCarron after several years of frustration. The 25th overall pick in 2013, McCarron never did grow into an NHL talent even though his 6’6″ frame suggested he would be able to hold down a fourth line role at least. In 69 NHL contests he’s recorded just eight points but 110 penalty minutes, not exactly an ideal mix in today’s league.
Both players will see their contracts expire at the end of the year, and will actually become Group VI unrestricted free agents (unless McCarron finds a regular role in Nashville’s lineup). At this point, a deal of this nature is just a fresh start and a new fit.
Three Players Clear Waivers
Monday: According to CapFriendly, all three players have cleared waivers. Holm’s contract can now be terminated.
Sunday: There are three defensemen hitting the NHL waiver wire today, though none should come as much of a surprise. New Jersey’s Matt Tennyson, who cleared waivers earlier this season, has again been waived for the purpose of reassignment to the AHL. Meanwhile, Montreal’s Christian Folin is also on waivers after being a healthy scratch for more than two months. Chicago’s Philip Holm, who has not seen any NHL action this season, has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
Folin, 28, played well down the stretch with the Canadiens last season after a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers and did enough to earn a one-year extension with the team this season. Signing a one-way deal to stay in Montreal, many expected that Folin could be a regular piece of the roster this season. However, he has hardly been utilized instead, playing in five games with the Habs, seven games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, and watching most games from the press box. After the Canadiens acquired Marco Scandella last week, it was clear that a re-shuffling of the blue line was in order and Folin is now headed back to the minor, pending safe clearance through waivers.
Tennyson, 29, has been a serviceable defender for the Devils this season, playing in 19 games already, which is equal to his past two seasons combined. Tennyson signed a two-year, two-way contract with New Jersey this summer and was expected to play the role of AHL veteran and deep depth option, but has already provided more value than that. However, he landed on the injured reserve back in early December and the Devils have gotten healthy and learned to play without him in the weeks since. Now healthy, Tennyson will return to the minors, unless another team was impressed enough with his early-season play to claim the affordable depth option.
Holm, 28, returned to North America this season after spending last year in the KHL. The former SHL standout took his time coming over initially, waiting until 2017 before signing with the Vancouver Canucks. Potentially as a result of his unfamiliarity with the NHL style, Holm has struggled to translate his ability. He played in one game with the Canucks early in the 2017-18, zero with the Vegas Golden Knights following a mid-season trade, and zero with the Blackhawks this season. His opportunity and thus his production has been better in Europe, making it far from a shock that he is abandoning his one-year, two-way contract with Chicago early to pursue other options. Expect his contract to be terminated tomorrow once he clears waivers.
Minor Transactions: 01/06/20
Another week starts in the NHL with four games on the schedule, including the expected debut of Ilya Kovalchuk with the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal will take on the Winnipeg Jets, who Kovalchuk never played for yet holds many all-time records. Those records of course were set when he was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers before the organization relocated, the real prime of Kovalchuk’s career. As the teams in action tonight prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Andrew Agozzino while sending Thomas Di Pauli to the minor leagues. Di Pauli made his NHL debut just a few days ago, but will now have to return to the AHL and wait for his next opportunity.
- Niko Mikkola is on his way back to the NHL from the San Antonio Rampage, flipped for Jake Walman by the St. Lous Blues. Walman made his debut on Saturday night and played just over 11 minutes, but will be replaced by Mikkola who is still hoping to get into an NHL lineup for the first time. The Blues play the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night and will try to get back on track after three consecutive losses.
- Steven Kampfer has been recalled by the Boston Bruins to serve as an extra defenseman as they head on the road. The Bruins will play the Nashville Predators tomorrow, trying to crack their own three-game losing streak and stay above the pushing Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Dalton Smith has been sent back to the AHL after just 86 seconds of NHL ice time. The veteran minor league forward was given a contract with the Sabres recently but he’ll have to head back to the Rochester Americans for the time being.
- Joel Kiviranta is back with the Dallas Stars after a short trip to the AHL. The 23-year old forward has already been involved in three transactions since the start of the year, moving up and down between the two leagues.
Minor Transactions: 01/05/20
After a busy slate on the docket in the NHL, the one thing that stood out is the sudden strength of the Pacific Division. Despite winning their fourth straight in a rare three-goal comeback victory over the Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues, the Vegas Golden Knights failed to gain any ground as the top team in the Pacific. Vegas continues to hold just a two-point lead over Arizona, who won their third straight Saturday. The Vancouver Canucks remain just four points behind that after winning their seventh straight Saturday, while even the Edmonton Oilers captured a win to stay just five games behind Vegas. Plenty of teams will be making roster moves today. Check back throughout the day to see what moves teams made:
- With their Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta ailing, the Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled goaltender Ivan Prosvetov from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. With Adin Hill already recalled, that gives them four goaltenders on the NHL roster and The Athletic’s Craig Morgan confirmed that all four goaltenders will travel with the team on Arizona’s upcoming three-game road trip. Raanta went down Saturday with an injury, although early reports suggest it’s not too serious.
- Providence Journal’s Mark Divver reports that the Boston Bruins have assigned defenseman Steven Kampfer to the Providence Bruins of the AHL, although the scribe points out that the move could be a paper transaction to help Boston’s salary cap situation.
- TribLive’s Seth Rorabaugh writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned goaltender Emil Larmi to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. Larmi served as the backup to Matt Murray Saturday against Montreal, but was only recalled because Wilkes-Barre Scranton starter Casey DeSmith misplaced his passport.
- The New York Rangers placed forward Brendan Lemieux on injured reserve late last night, according to CapFriendly. The 23-year-old has been out since Dec. 27 after suffering a broken hand. The team didn’t immediately place him on IR, but now have opted to do so. Lemieux is still targeting a late January return to the team. He has five goals and 13 points so far this season to go with 87 penalty minutes.
Trade Rumors: Calgary, Baertschi, Sandin
The Calgary Flames recently opened up significant salary cap space by trading away veteran forward Michael Frolik and his $4.3MM cap hit. The move occurred on Thursday and by Saturday the word was out that Calgary GM Brad Treliving was already on the hunt to fill that space. The Flames would like help up front and now have nearly $5MM to make and addition or perhaps even two. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Treliving and company are not interested in the rental market. The team’s preference is to add a player with term as opposed to using up their newfound cap space on a short-term commitment, especially as they continue to sit outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. Friedman feels that, if the Flames are comfortable with Elias Lindholm remaining at center, their trade focus will be on adding a right wing. While it is often hard to predict which term players may be available, some top-six right wing options that Calgary can afford and may be available could include New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Montreal’s Joel Armia, Anaheim’s Ondrej Kase, or the Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich. Of course, the team could also look into negotiating an extension with an available rental prior to making a deal, which would open up options like L.A.’s Tyler Toffoli or Florida’s Mike Hoffman or Evgenii Dadonov.
- While one might assume that the Montreal Canadiens, currently in 13th in the Eastern Conference, would be sellers this season, the team proved otherwise this week by acquiring defenseman Marco Scandella and signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk. Friedman reports that the team was also considering Vancouver Canucks forward Sven Baertschi before pulling the trigger on Kovalchuk, although continued interest cannot be completely ruled out. It’s easy to forget about Baertschi’s availability, as the Canucks have kept him buried in the AHL for all but six games this season and have performed fine without him, currently riding the league’s longest winning streak in fact. Baertschi, who recorded 106 points in 216 games with the Canucks over the past four seasons, has been slowed by injuries in his career but productive when healthy. He has shown as much this year, scoring at an elite pace in the AHL. The risk-reward winger cleared waivers earlier this season, but as he continues to stay healthy and score in the minors, the Canadiens will not be the only team with interest. If Vancouver is willing to retain part of Baerstschi’s $3.367 cap hit through next season, that will only increase the likelihood that another team opts to take a chance on him.
- While there has been some speculation that the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs could turn to the trade market to add depth on the blue line, especially in light of recent injuries, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston believes that the team may opt to fill the void internally instead. With Rasmus Sandin excelling overseas at the World Junior Championship, Johnston believes that Toronto’s opinion on playing the young defenseman this season has changed. Johnston does not believe that keeping Sandin under ten games of NHL action, so as to allow his entry-level contract to slide one more year, is a priority anymore for the team. He believes that when Sandin returns to Toronto, he will become a viable option for the remainder of the season. Sanin has already played in four games this season, so it would not take much time for him to burn the first year of his contract, but it may be worth it if the Leafs can solidify their back end.
Tampa’s Cory Conacher Drawing Interest Overseas
Cory Conacher is still very much under contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the NHL season is far from over, but that isn’t stopping SC Bern and their NLA competitors from pursuing him. Formerly a breakout prospect that once upon a time fetched Ben Bishop in a trade, Conacher’s NHL career burned bright early on and burned out just as fast. Conacher record 24 points in his first 35 NHL games in 2012-13, but has recorded just 51 points in 158 NHL games since. He may be looking for a change of scenery and Swiss teams are willing to oblige.
Conacher has remained a dominant AHL force throughout his career, maintaining a near point-per-game pace in over 300 career minor league games. Yet, his best pro season actually came back in 2015-16, when he spent the season overseas in Switzerland with SC Bern. Conacher led Bern in scoring with 52 points and finished in the top five in the NLA in scoring, while leading Bern to an unexpected championship. The team has won two more championships since, but in the midst of a down year they are reminiscing about better times. With Conacher’s NHL hopes all but dashed, Bern hopes that they can entice him to return.
Beat writer Reto Kirchhofer writes that Bern is interested in signing Conacher, perhaps even before the end of the season, and GM Alex Chatelain recently met with the 30-year-old forward while visiting the U.S. Kirchhofer does not believe that Conacher will ask for a release from the Lightning this season, but feels that he will become a real target this off-season. However, he adds that Bern will not be the only Swiss club pursuing the former NLA superstar. Conacher could play on another minimum two-way deal with the Lightning again next year, as he has for the past four seasons, but he will likely at least be interested in the potential bidding war awaiting him in Switzerland this summer.
AHL 2020 All-Star Rosters Announced
Just like the NHL did recently, the AHL has now announced their All-Star rosters for the upcoming festivities. The minor league will hold their annual showcase in Ontario, California, hosted by the Los Angeles Kings’ affiliate. 33 of the players announced are AHL All-Stars for the first time, including several top prospects around the league.
The full rosters:
Atlantic Division:
Andrew Agozzino, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Sebastian Aho, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers
Paul Carey, Providence Bruins
Chris Driedger, Springfield Thunderbirds
Morgan Frost, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack
Matt Moulson, Hershey Bears (Captain)
Michael Sgarbossa, Hershey Bears
Igor Shesterkin, Hartford Wolf Pack
Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins
Owen Tippett, Springfield Thunderbirds
North Division:
Rudolfs Balcers, Belleville Senators
Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators
Reid Boucher, Utica Comets
Nathan Gerbe, Cleveland Monsters
Charles Hudon, Laval Rocket
Jonas Johansson, Rochester Americans
Kasimir Kaskisuo, Toronto Marlies
Lawrence Pilut, Rochester Americans
Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets
Rasmus Sandin, Toronto Marlies
Ben Street, Binghamton Devils
Central Division:
Alexandre Carrier, Milwaukee Admirals
Lucas Elvenes, Chicago Wolves
Matthew Ford, Grand Rapids Griffins (Captain)
Jansen Harkins, Manitoba Moose
Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals
Kevin Lankinen, Rockford IceHogs
Joel L’Esperance, Texas Stars
Gerald Mayhew, Iowa Wild
Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild
Derrick Pouliot, San Antonio Rampage
Chris Terry, Grand Rapids Griffins
Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee Admirals
Pacific Division:
Joachim Blichfeld, San Jose Barracuda
Kyle Capobianco, Tucson Roadrunners
Kale Clague, Ontario Reign
Martin Frk, Ontario Reign
Glenn Gawdin, Stockton Heat
Lane Pederson, Tucson Roadrunners
Calvin Petersen, Ontario Reign
Matthew Phillips, Stockton Heat
Anthony Stolarz, San Diego Gulls
T.J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles
Chris Wideman, San Diego Gulls
Kailer Yamamoto, Bakersfield Condors
Minor Transactions: 01/03/19
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.
Minor Transactions: 01/02/20
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.