Dallas Stars Recall Remi Elie From AHL
After learning that Antoine Roussel would likely be out for the remainder of the regular season, the Dallas Stars have recalled Remi Elie from the AHL. Though the team release does not specify it, Mark Stepneski of the Stars’ site reports that he is an emergency call-up and doesn’t count against their four remaining recalls.
Elie had been up with the club as recently as Wednesday, hoping to break into the lineup after the trade of Patrick Eaves. He looks like he’ll now get that shot, and should debut tomorrow against the Florida Panthers. The former second-round pick has asserted himself well at the AHL level this season, scoring 25 points in 50 games.
The Stars are amazingly just eight points out of the playoffs, but have all but thrown in the towel on this season. Nothing has gone right for them after they dominated the regular season last year, and will look to reload for 2017-18. Seeing what Elie and other young players like Jason Dickinson and Julius Honka can do at the NHL level is high on the list of priorities.
Florida Panthers Recall Reto Berra On Emergency Basis
After Roberto Luongo was injured in last night’s game, the Florida Panthers have recalled Reto Berra from the AHL on an emergency basis. According to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, Luongo will be out at least a week.
As it is an emergency recall due to injury, the Panthers will not burn one of their four remaining recalls. Berra will need to be returned when Luongo becomes healthy enough to play, but can stay as long as he needs. The former Colorado Avalanche netminder has played in 31 games for Springfield this year, registering a .910 save percentage. Since coming over from Switzerland in 2013, Berra has played in 64 NHL games and put up a .906 save percentage.
This is exactly why the Panthers went out and signed James Reimer in the offseason, in order to protect themselves from any potential injury to their 37-year old netminder. Reimer will now take over the crease full-time until Luongo gets back, presenting a great chance for him to prove that he’s capable of being a standalone #1 goaltender in this league. The Panthers are currently just a single point behind both the Maple Leafs and Islanders for the final playoff spot, and have be playing well as of late.
Reimer actually has better numbers than Luongo this season, leading some to believe he should have been in the net all season long. The Panthers do have four back-to-back situations remaining, including next weekend against the Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning.
New York Rangers Recall Pavel Buchnevich
Well that didn’t take long. After sending Pavel Buchnevich down to the Hartford Wolfpack two days ago, the New York Rangers have deemed him necessary once again. He has been recalled to the NHL ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins tonight.
Buchnevich scored two goals and recorded an assist in the Wolfpack’s 4-3 victory last night, making it five points in the four games he’s spent in the AHL this season. In his 21 NHL contests, the 21-year old Russian forward has registered 15 points.
Drafted in the third round in 2013, this is Buchnevich’s first year on North American ice. He played in the KHL the past four seasons including alongside Ilya Kovalchuk and several other former NHLers on St. Petersburg at the end of last year. The rail-thin forward has magic hands that can do pretty much anything with the puck, and like other Russian snipers that have come before him has a howitzer from the circle.
Though the adjustments are still being made to the NHL game and ice, Buchnevich should be a good player in the league for a long time. His recall comes after news that Jesper Fast will miss a few weeks after being injured in practice. The Rangers added defense at the deadline, but will use Buchnevich as their forward addition.
Devils, Panthers Swap Minor Leaguers
The second-to-last deal announced on deadline day was a minor deal between the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers. The Devils will receive forward Shane Harper, while going the other way to the Panthers is defenseman Reece Scarlett.
Though 28 years old, Harper is in his rookie season in the NHL and had three points in 14 games with Florida this season. An undrafted free agent out of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, Harper worked his way through the minors to finally get his NHL shot and now will get to show that he should stay at the highest level when he joins the Devils.
After trading away Dylan McIlrath earlier in the day, the Panthers have filled his spot in the organization with Scarlett. A 2011 sixth-round pick, the 23-year-old blue liner was never given an NHL shot in New Jersey, despite years of decent offense in the AHL, and is likely happy to get a change of scenery.
Rangers, Oilers Swap AHL Veterans
In need of a winger with Jesper Fast out two to three weeks, the New York Rangers worked quickly, trading Justin Fontaine to the Edmonton Oilers for Taylor Beck. The 25-year-old Beck, who has now been traded four times in the last two years, is the right-shot scorer that the Rangers needed to make up for Fast’s absence. Beck has only played in three games in Edmonton in 2016-17, but has 50 points in 40 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, already topping his career-best AHL numbers. Beck played in 62 games with the Nashville Predators in 2014-15, recording 16 points, so he has shown that he can stick in the NHL. Although the Rangers likely have no long-term plans for the impending free agent, Beck gives them an option to help out with injuries up front down the stretch.
Fontaine, a 29-year-old Alberta native, played in 197 games with the Minnesota Wild over the past three seasons, but never got the call in New York. The small, high-energy forward was once a top scorer in the AHL, but his offense has fallen off and has been replaced with a more gritty game. A young Edmonton team may be able to use that veteran toughness at some point during the remainder of the season.
Tampa Bay, Florida Swap AHL Goaltenders
Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the Tampa Bay Lightning have traded Adam Wilcox to Florida for Mike McKenna. Both goaltenders are playing in the AHL at the moment, though McKenna does have some NHL experience over his lengthy professional career.
McKenna was drafted way back in 2002 by the Nashville Predators, and has bounced around the minor leagues for over a decade. He has been excellent, average and bad at different times, with the most recent stint with Springfield being closer to the lower end of that scale. The 33-year old has a .907 save percentage this season.
Wilcox on the other hand is just 24 but has had a tough time adjusting to the AHL since starring at the University of Minnesota. At a .895 save percentage this season, Syracuse needed an improvement for their upcoming playoff run. Despite their bad goaltending—Kristers Gudlevskis also has a sub-.900 save percentage this season—the Crunch are in first place in the North Division and expect another playoff appearance.
Jesper Fast Out 2-3 Weeks
With under two hours to go until the Trade Deadline passes, plans for the New York Rangers and GM Jeff Gorton might be changing. Head coach Alain Vigneault confirmed that right winger Jesper Fast was injured in last night’s contest against the Washington Capitals, after taking a hard hit from Alexander Ovechkin, and suffered shoulder damage. The injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup for the next two to three weeks.
Fast, while a bottom-six forward for the Rangers, is also the only right-shooting winger on the team. There is no easy solution to replace him on the right side from the AHL either. It also doesn’t help that Michael Grabner is banged up and questionable for New York’s game against the Boston Bruins tomorrow night. Gorton may need to turn his focus in these final two hours of trade-ability to finding another winger. Options at right wing include Arizona’s Radim Vrbata, whose name has been a hot topic all day, New Jersey’s P.A. Parenteau, and Winnipeg’s Drew Stafford.
If the Rangers decide against a trade, Pavel Buchnevich is likely the next man up.
Minor Transactions: 03/01/17
While all the big deals will be listed on our deadline transaction tracker, we’ll keep an eye open for any player movement between the NHL and AHL here like always.
- The New York Islanders have brought Josh Ho-Sang back up on the emergency conditions he was recalled on yesterday. Interestingly the team loaned him back to Bridgeport just a few hours after recalling him yesterday to leave room in case they made a deal.
- After acquiring Brendan Smith, the New York Rangers have sent Steven Kampfer back to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Kampfer was up with the team because of the Dan Girardi injury, and logged almost 16 minutes of ice time in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss last night.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have added from the inside today, bringing up Derrick Pouliot from the AHL. The defenseman has played seven games with the NHL club this season.
- According to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal, the Boston Bruins have brought Joe Morrow back to the big leagues. Morrow hasn’t played in an NHL game in over a month, but has 17 under his belt this season.
- The Devils announced that they have recalled forward Kevin Rooney from Albany of the AHL. This will be his first NHL stint after signing an entry-level contract back on Monday. In 57 AHL games this season, he has ten goals and seven assists.
- Dallas announced that left winger Remi Elie was re-assigned to their AHL affiliate in Texas. The 21 year old didn’t get into a game after being recalled on Sunday. In 49 games this season in the minors, he has eight goals and 17 helpers.
- According to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star, the Maple Leafs have sent Nikita Soshnikov down the Toronto Marlies ahead of the AHL playoff eligibility deadline. The forward was left out of the lineup last night after Brian Boyle joined the team.
At Least Two Teams Interested In Jaroslav Halak
2:00pm: Craig Custance of ESPN reports that the Edmonton Oilers are one of the teams interested in Halak.
1:30pm: According to several reports on Twitter including Sportsnet’s John Shannon along with Frank Seravalli and Darren Dreger of TSN, the New York Islanders are receiving calls about goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Seravalli claims that at least two teams have already put in offers for the netminder, with a third interested.
Halak has another year left on his deal at $4.5MM and is currently buried in the minors with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. His numbers there give some credence to the idea that he can still help an NHL team, as he is 14-2-1 with a .933 save percentage. The Islanders meanwhile have committed to Thomas Greiss in net, meaning if they can find a taker they’d likely move Halak at the deadline.
The former Montreal Canadiens goaltender burst onto the scene in 2010 when he took the Habs to the conference final and has been a steady playoff performer through his otherwise limited experience. A career .924 postseason save percentage should have many teams wondering if he can help them down the stretch and guard against a young goaltender buckling under the pressure.
With the Islanders still fighting for a playoff spot, perhaps moving Halak would allow them to take on even more money elsewhere to bolster their offense. They’ve been in and out of the Matt Duchene rumor mill all day, but could move on a smaller deal like Radim Vrbata to help John Tavares carry the offense.
New York Rangers And Buffalo Sabres Swap AHL Players
The New York Rangers have made another deal today following their acquisition of Brendan Smith, trading Mat Bodie to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Daniel Catenacci.
Bodie had been the captain of the Hartford Wolf Pack this season and is a 26-year old defenseman. Signed out of Union College in 2014 after going undrafted and made an immediate impact at the AHL level. His offensive ability and puck-moving instincts have made him an integral part of the Wolf Pack’s back end the past three seasons, but will now head to the Rochester Americans to try and help them climb out of the bottom of the standings.
In return, the Rangers will welcome Catenacci to the fold, a 23-year old former third-round pick that made his NHL debut this season. In four years in the AHL, the undersized centerman has yet to reach his high offensive potential but has elite speed and skating ability.
This is likely just one of several minor moves teams will make before tomorrow’s deadline, as assistant GMs sort out their AHL rosters as well. Unfortunately for both of these teams, they find themselves well out of a playoff position for the Calder Cup this season.