Minor Transactions: 12/22/17
Even during the NHL roster freeze, some moves will still be made on the fringes to get teams ready for the holiday break. As always, we’ll keep you updated on all the minor transactions around the league.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Sonny Milano back to the minor leagues. Milano of course can be loaned to the Cleveland Monsters during the freeze because he had previously been recalled after December 11th. The 21-year old Milano has 10 points in 28 games with the Blue Jackets this season.
- Colby Cave is on his way back to the minor leagues, after filling in for some sick Boston Bruins last night. The 22-year old Cave made his NHL debut, but was on emergency conditions and must be sent back to the minor leagues. The undrafted former junior teammate of Jake DeBrusk, Cave has become a welcome part of the Providence Bruins, providing a checking presence and chipping in offensively now and again.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Chris Didomenico from the AHL due to injuries suffered by Zack Smith and Bobby Ryan. As Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun reports, Smith will be out for at least two weeks with a shoulder injury while Ryan should only miss one game. Brennan also reports that Daniel Taylor should be another call-up by the Senators if Craig Anderson can’t go because of an illness.
- The San Jose Sharks have sent Danny O’Regan down to the minor leagues while recalling Joakim Ryan. That gives the team a seventh defenseman while Paul Martin remains on his conditioning stint in the minor leagues, with one game remaining before the Christmas break.
Blackhawks’ Ivan Nalimov Released By KHL Team
It’s no secret that the KHL and it’s member teams are struggling financially. The uncapped nature of the international league has led to a wide gap in competitive balance and an inflation in salaries that the teams toward the bottom have a hard time paying, but still have to sign if they hope to stay somewhat competitive. However, those decisions have caught up to many clubs who in many cases delayed their payments to players by months at a time and, beginning this off-season, were even forced to cut good players who they simply could not afford.
This unfortunate pattern has not ended and the most recent casualty is young goaltender Ivan Nalimov. Nalimov, who was a sixth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2014, has been developing his game in his native Russia with Admiral Vladivostok ever since. Yet, in the midst of a breakout campaign, Nalimov was forced to terminate his contract with the team, citing financial struggles as the main reason, according to KHL insider Aivis Kalnins. Admiral, who sits at the bottom of the KHL’s Chernyshev Division, has the unfortunate and unchangeable situation of being the farthest east team in a league primarily located in western Russia. With high travel expenses and a poor record, the team clearly felt they had little reason to keep paying some of their best – and most well-compensated – players and did not work quickly to solve their payment problems. That apparently includes the 23-year-old Nalimov, who has an impeccable 1.98 GAA and .942 save percentage in 17 games this season. Those numbers place Nalimov among the top goaltenders in the KHL this season, alongside New York Rangers prospect Igor Shestyorkin and veteran Swedish superstar Lars Johansson. However, while those goalies’ teams lead their respective divisions and the pair will get the chance to contend for a title this season, Nalimov’s future is now a total unknown.
So what’s next for Nalimov? The Athletic’s Scott Powers says not the NHL. Agent Shumi Babaev told Powers that they are assessing their options, but no discussions have been had with Chicago GM Stan Bowman and Nalimov is not anticipating a jump overseas just yet. Despite the young goalie’s impressive season, the Blackhawks are set at the NHL level in goal and Nalimov would rather play in the KHL than AHL. He could certainly benefit from more development time in Europe anyway. There’s no clear answer right now as to what the next step is for Nalimov, though simply signing with another KHL team, one with a more stable financial status, seems highly likely. The talented young keeper is certainly worth keeping an eye on as he determines how his hockey future will proceed.
Minor Transactions: 12/21/17
Who cares about a roster freeze. Despite the fact that teams can’t trade or waive players, there was quite a bit of movement around the league yesterday. Today is expected to be no different, and we’ll keep an eye on all the minor moves right here. Make sure to refresh throughout the day to keep up.
- The Montreal Canadiens recalled Brett Lernout late last night, bringing the young defender up to the NHL for the first time this season. Lernout, 22, has three games under his belt for the Canadiens in the past, and will be another option for the team while Shea Weber nurses his foot injury.
- The Washington Capitals have recalled Madison Bowey and Jakub Vrana back to the minor leagues once again, after executing a paper transaction yesterday to save some cap room. After reclaiming Nathan Walker off waivers yesterday, the Capitals are pushed right up against the salary cap and need to bank as much room on a day to day basis as possible. With Bowey and Vrana both playing well, neither are expected to actually leave the roster for any games.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Andreas Englund from the AHL, giving them another defensive option for their three-game road trip. In a corresponding move, the team has placed Gabriel Dumont on injured reserve in order to make room for Englund on the roster.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Colby Cave from the AHL for the first time in his career, as Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner and Riley Nash all deal with the flu. The trio are all game-time decisions for the team’s game against the Jets.
- Tyler Bertuzzi is back up with the Detroit Red Wings, a week after being sent down. Bertuzzi has played just a single game with the Red Wings this season, but is a player they still hope can grow into something special. It’s not clear if Bertuzzi will get into the lineup right away, but with Luke Glendening suffering a hand injury yesterday there could be room for the young forward.
Overseas Extensions For Jeffrey, Fraser
Many NHL veterans and low-profile prospects head overseas in hopes of making a name for themselves and earning a contract back in North America. Others find the perfect niche in Europe and decide to stay put. With the current state of the league finding it more and more difficult for mid-range talent to find fair market value, an increasing number of players are choosing the latter route and sticking with their overseas situation. That pattern continued today with the extensions for Dustin Jeffrey and Mark Fraser.
Jeffrey, 29, was a long-time Pittsburgh Penguins depth player and made stops in Dallas and Arizona as well, all while playing the vast majority of his games in the AHL. While Jeffrey was a gifted forward who always put up good numbers in the minors – including a 71-point campaign with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – that ability could never quite translate to the NHL. Jeffrey made the move overseas in 2016-17, joining Lausanne HC in the Swiss NLA. Right away, Jeffrey was a good fit, posting a near point-per-game season with 46 points in 49 games, a per-game rate among the league’s best. Yet, this season he off to an even better start with 38 points in 33 games, the best numbers in the league in assists and points. Lausanne rewarded Jeffrey today, announcing a two-year contract extension. Jeffrey is playing the best hockey of his career and has clearly found a place where he is comfortable in western Switzerland.
The veteran defenseman Fraser has found a fit in an entirely different country. After eleven years of North American hockey, including more than 200 NHL games and nearly 500 AHL games mostly with the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs organizations, Fraser made the jump this summer, signing with TPS of the Finnish Liiga. Fraser has only ten games played this season and just a singular point to show for it, but his invaluable experience and leadership is clearly of value to TPS. The team announced that Fraser’s “probationary” contract has been extended through the rest of the season. The team form Turku, Finland is near the top of the Liiga standings right now and could lean on the dependable Fraser down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Minor Transactions: 12/20/17
Despite the NHL being in their holiday roster freeze, there are still minor moves that can be made. As we’ve discussed before, players can still be recalled from the minor leagues during this time, and those who were recalled after December 11th can still be loaned to the AHL until 11:59pm eastern on December 23rd. Thus, the league is not completely frozen and we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Gabriel Carlsson from the AHL, due to an injury to Zach Werenski that will keep him out of the lineup tonight against Toronto. Carlsson played 10 games with the Blue Jackets earlier this season, and is another highly touted defenseman in their system. Though he has quite a few excellent players ahead of him, expect Carlsson to make an impact on the Blue Jackets before long.
- The Vancouver Canucks have assigned Michael Chaput to the minor leagues, meaning either the move technically went through last night or Chaput had been up previously on emergency conditions. He’d previously been called up on December 6th, and played in three games with the club.
- The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Kevin Gravel from the AHL, bringing the hulking defenseman up for the first time this year. Gravel played 49 games with the NHL club last season, but has been toiling in the minor leagues all year, scoring nine points in 24 games. With Christian Folin headed to injured reserve yesterday, the Kings needed a seventh defenseman for the time being.
- Tomas Hyka has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Vegas Golden Knights, after sitting out last night’s match against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hyka still hasn’t made his NHL debut after signing out of Europe in the summer, but has 12 points in 16 games for the Chicago Wolves.
- Joseph Blandisi has been sent to the minor leagues by the Anaheim Ducks, something Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register suspected yesterday. Blandisi has dealt with injury since coming over from the Devils in the Adam Henrique–Sami Vatanen trade, and only played in three games with the Ducks.
- Shane Prince is back with the New York Islanders after a lengthy conditioning stint, where he registered two points in four AHL contests. Prince spent ten days in the minor leagues with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but is ready to return and contribute for the surging Islanders.
Minor Transactions: 12/18/17
A new week begins in the NHL and teams must make their final few roster moves before a freeze is put in effect tomorrow night. We’ll keep track of any last minute moves around the league right here. Make sure to refresh throughout the day.
- As expected, Madison Bowey and Jakub Vrana have both been recalled today. Their assignment to Hershey yesterday was nothing more than a cap saving measure, and both players weren’t expected to miss any time. Vrana is skating with T.J. Oshie—back at Washington Capitals practice today after missing several games with a concussion—and Evgeny Kuznetsov, an impressive line for the young forward.
- Ville Pokka is on his way back to the AHL without having played a game for the Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately, the 23-year old hasn’t been able to make an impact with the team since being acquired several years ago, and is still waiting to make his NHL debut. The Rockford IceHogs will welcome him back, but he’ll have to do more to crack the Blackhawks lineup down the road.
- The St. Louis Blues have recalled Tage Thompson from the AHL, while moving Samuel Blais to injured reserve. Thompson, 20, is a top prospect for the Blues who has already played four games for the club this season. Selected in the first round of the 2016 draft, Thompson turned pro out of the University of Connecticut last spring and so far has 16 points in 24 games for the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL.
- With Brock Boeser out with a foot injury for the time being, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled Reid Boucher to help up front. Because the extent of Boeser’s injury is unclear and he hasn’t been placed on injured reserve yet, the team sent down defensmean Ashton Sautner to make room for Boucher’s return.
- Edmonton has activated Adam Larsson from injured reserve and sent Anton Slepyshev to the minor leagues to make room. Larsson will be welcomed back with open arms after the team has started to play better of late. While still several points out of playoff contention, the Oilers have started to turn around what was a dreadful start of the year. Getting Larsson back after missing nearly three weeks will be sure to help.
- With Jacob Josefson returning to the lineup, the Buffalo Sabres have sent Hudson Fasching back to the minor leagues. Fasching has been held scoreless in five games for the Sabres this season, and has yet to make much of an impact on the organization since being acquired in 2014.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Ben Harpur from the minor leagues, bringing them to just 22 players on the active roster. The Senators had been operating with just 21 players on the active roster for some time, likely connected with the recent comments of owner Eugene Melnyk about cutting payroll. Harpur has played 12 games for the Senators this season, recording one point. It’s unclear if he’ll get into the lineup right away, or if he’s just up for insurance as the team takes on the Minnesota Wild tomorrow night.
Minor Transactions: 12/17/17
After an 11-game schedule last night that included the Centennial Classic at Lansdowne Park between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens, the NHL has just four games on Sunday, but after all that action, many teams are likely going to make some moves to shuffle their rosters.
- NHL.com’s Brian Hedger reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets will make a few roster changes after the team’s 2-1 loss to Carolina Saturday. The team plans to recall winger Sonny Milano and defenseman Cameron Gaunce and intend to assign forward Jordan Schroeder and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. For many of these players, they have been rotating back and forth between clubs most of the season. Milano has been one of those players. The 21-year-old has been with Cleveland for the past week and has two assists in four games there. He has played 25 games for the Blue Jackets, but has had trouble finding the net after a hot start. Gaunce will be recalled for the first time this season. The 27-year-old, who signed with Columbus in the offseason, has five assists in 20 AHL games. The team will return Schroeder, who has been up and down, but is slowly crossing the 10-game barrier that would force the team to place him on waivers again. The team placed the 27-year-old wing on waivers on Oct. 23. He has played eight games for Columbus with no points. Carlsson, has also been a two-way player quite often this year. The 20-year-old former first-round pick in 2015 has one assist in 10 games with Columbus and has played in just five games with Cleveland. He has been with the team since Dec. 1.
- The Florida Panthers announced the team has loaned winger Dryden Hunt to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL as the team is starting to get healthy again. The 22-year-old has been with the team since Nov. 9, but has just one assist in 11 games with the Panthers. Hunt had been playing well with Springfield to start the season, which is what prompted his promotion to Florida after he put up five goals and three assists in 13 games.
- The St. Louis Blues unsurprisingly activated defenseman Alex Pietrangelo Sunday, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Pietrangelo was activated after missing the last four games with a foot injury that he suffered in a Dec. 9 game against Detroit when he took a shot off his foot. The 27-year-old captain’s seven goals ranks third among NHL defenseman and his 23 points ranks him ninth among defenseman.
- Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post tweets that the Washington Capitals made a couple of roster moves today, sending defenseman Madison Bowey and winger Jakub Vrana to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. However, Khurshudyan adds that it is just a paper move to give Washington a small amount of cap space as both are not expected to leave town and will be recalled tomorrow morning.
Maple Leafs Place Zaitsev On Injured Reserve
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have placed defenseman Nikita Zaitsev on injured reserve Sunday after he suffered a lower-body injury in Friday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. Kristen Shilton of TSN tweets that while there is no definitive word on how Zaitsev was injured, the defenseman did block a shot from Niklas Kronwall in the second period Friday and missed the next seven minutes of action after that play. He did return after that, however.
Zaitsev leads the team in minutes played as he has averaged 22:51 of ice time this season and should be severely missed by the team. He has four goals and six assists in 34 games this season. While there is no word on the severity of the injury, the fact he was placed on injured reserve means the earliest he can come back will on Dec. 28 against the Arizona Coyotes. He will have to miss three games.
To replace Zaitsev, the Maple Leafs recalled defenseman Martin Marincin from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. He was placed on waivers to start the season and has played with the Marlies all season despite spending the entire season last year with the Maple Leafs (he only played 25 games last season, however). Marincin has been the Marlies top defenseman all season as he has seven points in 18 games this season. The Athletic’s James Mirtle tweets that Marincin’s confidence this year on the ice has been a big reason why he has played so well with the Marlies.
The moves will shake up the defensive pairings in Toronto as it’s likely that Roman Polak will take Zaitsev’s spot on the top line with Ron Hainsey, while Connor Carrick would move into the lineup and be paired with Jake Gardiner.
Lightning Notes: Callahan, Conacher, Volkov
On the surface, the loss of Ryan Callahan doesn’t seem too devastating. Afterall, the 32-year-old veteran has just one goal and five assists in 29 games. However, according to Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith, the loss is quite significant thanks to his ability to run a penalty kill unit as well as the leadership he provides on and off the ice.
Smith announced yesterday that Callahan will be out indefinitely after crashing into the boards hard during Thursday’s game against Arizona. He will be evaluated in three to four weeks, which means the team could be without him for considerably more time than that. Callahan already missed all but 18 games last season with hip issues. Asked how the team will replace him, coach Jon Cooper wasn’t overly confident.
“I don’t know if anyone can,” Cooper said. “He’s such a big part inside our room. The leadership core has got to bind together, and it’s one of those situations where he’ll still be around our team, won’t be in our lineup. He’s a big loss because he’s kind of a heart and soul guy for our team. So we’ve got to regroup and move on without him for a few weeks.”
The team will likely turn to J.T. Brown or Cory Conacher to fill that void, but the penalty kill could be affected. Conacher filled in for Callahan after he went down and Brown is expected to play in his stead today.
- One sidebar that Smith notes is that Conacher’s role might now have changed. Conacher, who cleared waivers at the start of the season, might not if he were waived a second time. The 28-year-old center has only played in seven games and was likely a candidate to send back to Syracuse soon. Once he hits 10 games, the team would be required to place him on waivers if they want to send him down to the AHL, so sending him down before he reaches 10 games would have been preferred. Now, with a Callahan’s injury, the team might be forced to keep him beyond the 10 games and risk losing him. Conacher has two goals and an assist in those seven games this season.
- Smith also writes that if the Callahan injury lasts longer than the three weeks, the team is more than capable of trading for a winger to replace him. However, according to Smith, that would be more likely in the case that Callahan is out much longer than anticipated.
- In another article, Smith interviews Syracuse Crunch coach Benoit Groulx on a number of issues, but did ask about one of the team’s top prospects in Alexander Volkov, the team’s second-round pick in the 2017 draft, who almost made the team out of training camp this year. The belief is he could be ready for the NHL later this season. “It’s not about ‘if,’ it’s more about when (he’s in the NHL), Groulx said. “He’s got the size, he’s got the speed, he’s got all the skills. He’s very deceptive for the opposition. You believe he’s slowing down and all of a sudden he’s got a second gear. He can beat you inside, can beat you outside. He’s got a good shot, good vision, good hockey sense. He’s got a lot of tools in his box.”
Minor Transactions: 12/16/17
It’s an action-packed day in the NHL with eleven games on tap, including the NHL 100 Classic, an outdoor re-match of the first game in NHL history back in 1917 between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. With some teams focused on games tonight, others focused on preparing for the upcoming week, and a pair of teams focused on what will likely be their most important game of the season, there promises to be some transaction action across the league today:
- The New Jersey Devils have reassigned Nick Lappin to the AHL’s Binghamton Devils in a move that likely means more than its face value. Lappin played in two games with New Jersey on this most recent recall – his first two NHL games of the season – and looked impressive in both outings. Lappin was involved in the offense, even contributing a goal in last night’s win over the Dallas Stars, and played well in an energy role. The former Brown Bear has also been on fire in the AHL, with 12 goals in 23 games. His demotion, if not for performance, must be an indication that the Devils are adding another healthy body to the lineup. With Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, and Marcus Johansson all banged up, the loss of Lappin is likely good news that one or more of that talented trio is ready to return.
- The Dallas Stars announced they have sent forward Jason Dickinson to the Texas Stars of the AHL today. He was called up on Dec. 10 and has played a total of five games this season for the Stars with all the injuries the team has dealt with recently. Dickinson hasn’t scored any points, but has been praised for his enthusiastic play for the Stars. He has 13 goals in 20 AHL games, and is a great depth guy when Dallas needs him. The team has recently gotten back both Martin Hanzal and Antoine Roussel from injury, so the need for the 22-year-old has waned.
- The Minnesota Wild announced after their game today against the Edmonton Oilers that they have assigned defenseman Ryan Murphy to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Despite playing well, the move is most likely due to the fact that the team intends to activate defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who has been out for the past nine games with a groin injury. Murphy, a first-round pick in 2011, is expected to get more minutes while in Iowa. He has had one goal and one assist in nine games so far this year.