Nashville Recalls Mazanec; Assigns Aberg, Saros To Milwaukee
Marek Mazanec will miraculously get another shot in the NHL this season, as the Nashville Predators have announced that they’ve called him up Monday evening. Despite allowing 13 goals in three games in his first stint with the team, the 25-year old netminder will get another chance to back up Pekka Rinne this season. Pontus Aberg and Juuse Saros have been sent down to make room.
While Mazanec has struggled mightily this season, Saros has shined. In the three games the 21-year old has started at the NHL level, he has only allowed five goals and carries a .940 save percentage (amazingly still losing two of the games). Since Saros has out-performed Mazanec at both levels, perhaps this is a case of letting the younger goaltender start the majority of games in the minors to continue his development.
Aberg has played nine games for the Predators this season, registering two points in his first taste of the NHL. A former second-round pick of the team, Aberg has been a strong offensive producer at the AHL level, recording 83 points since his debut in 2014-15. While he only received around 11 minutes a night at the NHL level, he does still feature heavily in the plans of the Predators going forward. He’ll go down now and use the experience of the faster game to continue his development into a two-way winger.
Minnesota Wild Send Mitchell, Olofsson To AHL
The Minnesota Wild are celebrating their win over the Edmonton Oilers last night with some roster moves. Today the team has sent down Zack Mitchell and Gustav Olofsson to the Iowa Wild. No indication what the corresponding moves would be, however with the team off until Wednesday, perhaps it’s just to keep the pair fresh.
Mitchell has played in 21 games between the two leagues this season, scoring just a single point. It’s a far cry from 42 he put up last year to lead the Iowa team, his second successful season with the franchise. An undrafted forward, Mitchell spent five seasons with the Guelph Storm of the OHL before catching on with the Wild. In his rookie campaign with the AHL squad in 2014-15, he put up 17 goals and 35 points, proving his junior success wasn’t a fluke. While he’s off to a much slower start, perhaps he can still develop into a bottom-six contributor for an NHL franchise.
Olofsson is an entirely different story. Drafted 46th overall in 2013, the Swedish-born, US-trained defenseman headed to Colorado College after the draft. Playing just one season for the school, Olofsson made the jump to the AHL less than a year after being drafted but has dealt with multiple injuries since then. He played in just one game with the NHL club this season, but is off to a strong start with Iowa, scoring 12 points in 21 games. Expected to skate on an NHL blueline full time at some point in his career, Olofsson has the size and skill to be an effective player.
Calgary Flames Send Shinkaruk To AHL
After a huge win powered by the return of Johnny Gaudreau last night, the Calgary Flames have trimmed their roster by one. Hunter Shinkaruk, the former first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks has been sent to the Stockton Heat of the AHL. The team will likely hold the roster spot open for Lance Bouma‘s return from injured reserve this week.
Shinkaruk was recalled exactly a month ago when Kris Versteeg was sidelined with a groin issue, and stayed with the team through various other injuries. The forward didn’t see much icetime however, as he only suited up for seven NHL games and played less than 10 minutes most nights. A single assist is all he can show for it and, as Mark Spector of Sportsnet says: “by all accounts, he’s not ready.”
The 22-year old Shinkaruk had a great season in the AHL last year, split between Utica and Stockton – he was traded for Markus Granlund in Feburary – scoring 51 points in 62 games. The former Medicine Hat Tiger has always been projected as a top-six forward capable of scoring in bunches, but hasn’t been given a real chance in the NHL yet.
Bouma, sidelined at the same time as Versteeg a month ago, has gotten into 13 contests this year and has just one point. The veteran forward is a much better fit for the bottom-six role, and offers a much more physical game. Just two seasons ago Bouma ranked seventh in the league in hits with 264 though has dealt with injuries since then. That was also his best offensive season, one in which he scored 16 goals and 34 points and looked like a key piece going forward for the upstart Flames.
Metro Division Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Islanders, Berube
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the league’s pleasant surprises through the quarter point of the campaign. Expected to again be a lottery team after a 27th place finish in 2015-16, Columbus is off to a 14 – 5 – 4 start and their 32 points are good enough to place them in a tie for fifth most in the NHL. The Jackets also rank in the top-ten in goals scored, goals allowed and have the league’s top ranked man advantage unit. Craig Morgan, writing for Fan Rag Sports Network, explores how Columbus has been able to turn things around after an offseason that didn’t yield any major personnel changes.
Morgan spoke with Blue Jackets beat writer Aaron Portzline, who was able to provide his insights into the team. Right off the top Portzline cites three key reasons for Columbus’ early success. First, Sergei Bobrovsky has been healthy and is performing at a high level between the pipes. Second, Alex Wennberg is producing at the level of a top center. Third, rookie blue liner Zach Werenski has shown he wasn’t just ready to play in the NHL, he was ready to be a star in the league.
Among goalies who have played in at least 15 games this season, Bobrovsky ranks 5th in Save % (0.929) and 6th in GAA (2.08). Wennberg, in his third NHL campaign, has 6 goals and 21 points in 23 contests and is tied for 7th in the league in assists. Werenski leads all rookie blue liners in goals (5) and points (16).
In addition to the output of those three key players, young defenseman Seth Jones has also played a vital role in the Blue Jackets unexpectedly strong play. Columbus head coach John Tortorella had this to say about Jones’ impact:
“You can see how he can control the game with the puck. We have a lot of teaching to do with him without the puck, but the God-given ability that he has, it’s at a different level than a lot of other players in this league.”
Whether or not Columbus can maintain this level of play and compete for a playoff berth of course remains to be seen. However, by this point in the campaign, teams that are currently hold a postseason spot have excellent odds of making the playoffs and that should bode well for the Jackets.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- With new ownership now pulling the strings in Brooklyn, there are rumblings that the New York Islanders may be searching for a high level executive to join their front office, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. The plan is to add a big name and evidently among those who are under consideration are two former NHL’ers with ties to the New York area: former Islander and Ranger Pat LaFontaine and Brad Richards, who retired after last season and spent three seasons with the Blueshirts. Staple adds that another name linked to the potential new role is Pat Brisson, who just so happens to be John Tavares‘ agent and was a contender for the Pittsburgh Penguins GM position two years ago. It’s not clear whether the hire, if eventually made, would join the team as team president and work with Islanders GM Garth Snow, or if that person would be charged with reshaping the organization’s front office.
- Jean-Francois Berube is currently in a tough spot as the Islanders #3 goalie behind Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss. Fearful of losing the 25-year-old net minder on waivers but apparently unwilling to give him any playing time, the Islanders have planted Berube firmly in the press box for much of the last two seasons. Berube has yet to see any action this season at any level and got into just 12 games – seven in the NHL and five in the AHL – in 2015-16. It’s certainly an unusual situation but as Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes, it’s not an entirely unique one. According to Brooks, goaltender Wayne Thomas spent the entire 1974-75 campaign on the roster of the Montreal Canadiens without even dressing as the backup. Berube has at least been on the Isles bench 10 times this season. Thomas would go on to appear in 243 career NHL contests – including a career-high 64 appearances the next season – perhaps providing some hope for Berube, who has all of seven games to his credit. While Brooks’ story is somewhat anecdotal, Berube and his representation have not been amused with the net minder’s lack of usage over the last two seasons. A resolution of some sorts that allows Berube to get on the ice, whether in Brooklyn or another NHL city, is likely best for all parties involved.
Atlantic Division Transactions/Injuries
The Buffalo Sabres, already without two of their top defensemen, will now also be without veteran blue liner Josh Gorges for what head coach Dan Bylsma says will be “weeks,” tweets Joe Yerdon of NHL.com. Gorges suffered a non-displaced fracture in his foot and according to Yerdon was seen in a walking boot yesterday.
The Sabres have been without the services of Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov since early November, weakening a blue line not considered to be particularly deep to begin with. Bogosian has missed a month with a sprained MCL while Kulikov has been out for three weeks due to an undisclosed injury. However, Yerdon reports that Kulikov is now considered day-to-day, suggesting he could return to the lineup relatively soon.
The Sabres are calling Taylor Fedun questionable for tomorrow’s game and if he can’t go, the team will have to call up a defender from Rochester of the AHL. Speculatively, Casey Nelson, who already has made eight appearances for Buffalo this season, could be the choice if a recall is necessarily.
(Buffalo Depth Cart – courtesy of Roster Resource)
- The Florida Panthers announced that they have recalled forward Paul Thompson from Springfield of the AHL. Thompson leads Springfield in several offensive categories including: goals (six); assists (nine); points (15); power play goals (three) and; shots on goal (64). He has appeared in 20 contests so far this season for the Thunderbirds. Thompson, 28, has just three NHL games of experience under his belt, all coming last season with New Jersey, and has yet to record a point. George Richards of the Miami Herald reports that Thompson’s recall was necessitated by an injury to Jonathan Marchessault last night in Ottawa.
Ottawa Reassigns Andrew Hammond To Binghamton
The Ottawa Senators have announced that they have reassigned goalie Andrew Hammond to Binghamton of the AHL. The move indicates that Craig Anderson will rejoin the team and should be available for the Senators road game tomorrow against Pittsburgh, as Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen tweets.
Anderson of course has taken several leaves of absence from the team this season in order to be with his family as his wife battles cancer. Despite that, the veteran net minder has had an outstanding season. He currently owns a 12 – 5 – 1 record with a GAA of 2.20 and a 0.930 Save %.
Hammond has started two games this season, allowing six goals in just four periods of hockey and stopping just 23 of the 29 shots against. He rose to fame during the 2014-15 campaign as he backstopped the Senators to a surprising playoff berth with a tremendous stretch run. Hammond finished the season with a record of 20 – 1 – 2 with a GAA of just 1.79 and a Save % of 0.941. That run prompted the Senators to award the then 24-year-old net minder with a three-year contract extension worth just more than $4MM. Unfortunately for Hammond and the Senators, he has failed to come close to replicating that success since signing the deal.
Hawks Reassign Schmaltz; Call Up Goalie Johansson
A day after losing starting goalie Corey Crawford for two to three weeks and being forced to sign an emergency net minder to serve as the team’s backup, the Chicago Blackhawks have made a move to hopefully solidify the position. The team has called up Lars Johansson from Rockford of the AHL to support Scott Darling between the pipes. In a corresponding move, Chicago reassigned rookie center Nick Schmaltz to Rockford. The related transactions were originally relayed by Tracy Myers of CSN Chicago via Twitter.
Crawford of course was diagnosed yesterday morning with appendicitis and underwent an emergency appendectomy at a Philadelphia hospital. Recovery times can vary but the Hawks at this point expect to be without the services of the soon-to-be-32-year-old for up to three weeks.
In desperate need of someone to backup Darling yesterday just hours before puck-drop, the Blackhawks inked Eric Semborski to an ATO. Semborski was a club player at Temple University and currently serves as a youth hockey coach in the Philadelphia area. While he didn’t get into the game, head coach Joel Quennville did say that he would have put Semborski in late had the Flyers scored a late empty-net goal to put the game out of reach.
Johansson is an interesting story. Already 29, he spent the first 10 seasons of his professional career playing in his native Sweden. An outstanding performance in 2015-16 while playing for Frolunda prompted Chicago to bring Larsson to North America to help add organizational depth between the pipes. Larsson went 27-6-0 with a 1.74 GAA and a Save % of 0.927% while leading Frolunda to the 2016 Swedish League championship. In 16 games with Rockford, he has a record of 6-7-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a Save % of 0.911%.
Schmaltz tallied one goal and four points in 26 games in his first professional campaign. The reassignment of Schmaltz leaves the Hawks perilously thin at forward with just 12 healthy bodies on the roster, though it does sound as if Jonathan Toews should be back in the lineup soon which will alleviate that issue.
The Hawks find themselves in this tight spot due to their proximity to the salary cap ceiling. By rule the team could have used former NHL net minder and current goalie coach for Chicago, Jimmy Waite, as the backup yesterday but as a former professional, Chicago would have had to have paid him a salary. With the team possessing less than $500K in space, they simply couldn’t have done so while remaining cap compliant.
Atlantic Division Snapshots: Yzerman, Beleskey, Bjugstad, Bibeau
The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the 2016-17 campaign as a popular pick to emerge from the Eastern Conference to compete for the Stanley Cup championship. While it’s still relatively early, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is concerned with the team’s inconsistent play, though as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes, that concern is tempered by calm.
Entering tonight’s home contest against Washington, the Lightning boast a record of just 13 – 11 – 1 through their first 25 games and currently reside in fourth place in the Atlantic, seven points behind first place Montreal. If the postseason was to start today, Tampa would be on the outside looking in, one point behind the Capitals for the final wild card spot though Washington has played three fewer games. Despite their standing and the fact the team has lost four in a row, Yzerman is not interested in making a move simply to “shake things up.”
“If there’s an opportunity to make us a better team, I’m certainly willing to explore it. But I like our team. I like the character of our players. We’re very careful of the type of person we bring in and which players we move out. That isn’t going to change.”
The trouble of late, according to Yzerman, has been the team’s lackluster play in their own zone. As Smith notes, Tampa Bay has given up 19 goals over the last four games; a figure which could have been higher if not for the quality play of the team’s net minders.
It’s easy to understand Yzerman’s hesitation to try to solve the team’s problems via the trade market. At this point so few teams have the available salary cap space necessary to make more than minor deals.
If they do decide a deal is in order either at or near the trade deadline, the Lightning do have an appealing asset to market in goaltender Ben Bishop. Bishop, who has been a Vezina Trophy finalist twice in the last three seasons, is in the final year of his contract. With Andrei Vasilevskiy inking a three-year contract extension over the summer and presumably the team’s future starter, the Lightning could move Bishop to address other areas of need.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Matt Beleskey of the Boston Bruins was knocked out of this afternoon’s game against Buffalo after absorbing a heavy hit from Sabres blue liner Taylor Fedun, writes Joe Haggerty of CSNNE. Beleskey suffered the lower-body injury late in the first period and his return was ruled out by the team soon thereafter. The gritty forward was a big-ticket free agent signing in the summer of 2015, inking a five-year, $19MM pact with Boston. This season he has struggled, scoring just two goals in 23 games for the Bruins.
- Struggling to find their way on the ice and having already relieved head coach Gerard Gallant of his duties, the Florida Panthers, under new bench boss Tom Rowe continue to tinker with the lineup in an effort to find some consistency. With Nick Bjugstad returning recently from injury, the team tried lining him up on the right side, instead of at his customary pivot position, to try to ease him back into the lineup. But after five games – and zero points for the 6-foot-6 center – Bjugstad is moving back to the middle, where Rowe feels he will be “more comfortable,” as Harvey Fialkov writes. Currently two points behind Washington for the second wild card slot in the East, Florida needs to improve their play if they want to qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive campaign and a return to normal production from Bjugstad would be a big help in that regard.
- Finally, with starting net minder Frederik Andersen battling an undisclosed illness and unable to practice yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Antoine Bibeau from the AHL on an emergency basis, according to Mike Augello (Twitter link). Elliotte Friedman adds that while Andersen is still expected to play, the team wanted certainty just in case, and with the Leafs in Vancouver to play the Canucks tonight, Toronto acted early as a precaution. Bibeau has yet to make his NHL debut and it appears unlikely he will do so tonight. While he has no big league experience, the 22-year-old goalie has appeared in 87 contests over the last three seasons with the Marlies.
Sharks Reassign Labanc, Carpenter To AHL
The San Jose Sharks have reassigned forwards Kevin Labanc and Ryan Carpenter to the San Jose Barracuda, according to the AHL’s transaction page and reported by Curtis Pashelka (Twitter link). The moves leave the team with just 12 healthy forwards on the roster but with the Sharks off until next Wednesday, it allows the duo to perhaps get in some game action in the interim as the Barracuda have games tonight and tomorrow in San Antonio. One or both could be recalled in advance of Wednesday’s contest in San Jose against Ottawa.
Pashelka also adds that the reassignments allow the Sharks to bank a little bit of cap space ahead of the trade deadline. Currently the club has roughly $2.5MM in cap space but that includes nearly $3MM in relief due to Tomas Hertl being on LTIR. As a team so close to the cap ceiling, any dollar saved today can help give them enough space to add reinforcements at the trade deadline.
Carpenter, who scored his first career NHL goal on November 30th, has been a healthy scratch in each of the last two contests. He’s appeared in three games this season and is averaging 8:52 of ice time. He’s accumulated seven points in 12 contests for the Barracuda this season.
Labanc, soon to turn 21, has two goals and four points in 12 appearances for the Sharks. The first-year pro has tallied four goals and 10 points in six AHL games.
Oilers Place Nurse On IR, Recall Simpson
The Edmonton Oilers have placed defenseman Darnell Nurse on Injured Reserve (IR) and recalled Dillon Simpson from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
It’s not clear what is wrong with Nurse, who hasn’t missed a game all season. Coach Todd McLellan told the media Nurse will be out long-term with a lower-body injury suffered in the Oilers last game, a 6-3 win in Winnipeg. McLellan said GM Peter Chiarelli will update Nurse’s condition in the coming days, as is the Oilers custom with serious injuries.
Nurse played 70 seconds more than his average time-on-ice in Winnipeg. He’s been much improved this season, and has five points in 25 games. Nurse struggled last season when he was forced to play top-minutes as a rookie.
Because of Nurse’s injury, the Oilers have switched up their defense pairings for tonight’s game against Anaheim. Andrej Sekera will pair with rookie Matt Benning; Oscar Klefbom and Mark Fayne will form the second pair; Kris Russell and Adam Larsson the other pair (pairs per Bob Stauffer). Simpson will serve as the seventh defenseman, with Nurse, Brandon Davidson, and Eric Gryba all on IR.
Simpson has yet to play an NHL game, but has already been called up once this season as insurance for an injured player. He has one goal in 12 games with the Condors this season. The 2011 fourth-round pick is considered an all-round player who doesn’t have one standout skill, but is just good enough at each part of the game. The Edmonton-native is the son of former Oiler and Hockey Night in Canada commentator Craig Simpson.