Jakub Nakladal, Shane Harper On Waivers
First-year forward Shane Harper has been placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers tweets Bill Whitehead, who covers the team for the AP. The 27-year-old Harper made his NHL debut this season, seeing action in 14 games and recording three points for the Panthers.
Harper was signed by the Panthers in the summer of 2015 and spent the entire campaign with the AHL Portland Pirates. He scored 12 goals and 37 points in 59 games for the Panthers top minor league affiliate. It’s probable Harper will go unclaimed and be returned to the minors.
Elliotte Friedman adds that joining Harper on waivers this afternoon is defenseman Jakub Nakladal of the Carolina Hurricanes. Nakladal inked an unrestricted free agent deal last month with the Hurricanes and appeared in three contests for Carolina. Nakladal was held scoreless and finished with a -4 plus-minus rating while averaging 14:30 of ice time per game.
Given Nakladal remained unsigned until just days before Carolina’s 2016-17 season opener, it would seem likely he’ll clear waivers and be eligible to be sent to Charlotte of the AHL.
Boston Bruins Lose Noel Acciari For Four Weeks
The Boston Bruins will be shorthanded for a while, as they announced today that forward Noel Acciari will miss four weeks with a lower-body injury. The rookie suffered the injury Monday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Signed out of Providence College last summer, Acciari split time between the NHL and AHL Bruins lineups last season, scoring 20 total points in 64 games. The 24-year old centerman currently ranks third on the team in hits and provides an up-tempo game for the team’s bottom-six. Skating with Dominic Moore and Tim Schaller, he’s contributed two assists this season.
While losing Acciari doesn’t cripple the Bruins lineup, it does take out an effective checking forward who had been used often on the penalty kill. Jimmy Hayes made his way back into the lineup in his absence, and will try to show that he can still be an effective member of this team, after putting up 29 points last year. The 26-year old has started the season pointless in his first eleven contests.
Blues Notes: Fabbri, Hutton, Gunnarsson
After scratching former first-overall pick Nail Yakupov for three straight games, St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock will now sit down another highly regarded forward according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. Yakupov will dress tonight in place of Robby Fabbri, the Blues’ first-round pick from 2014. Hitchcock explained his decision (via Korac):
You have to make a decision whether you want to be in the group of 14, or you want to stay in that top 9 or 10.
It’s all connected to tenacity…goals and assists I don’t look at.
This will be the first time in his (albeit short) career that Fabbri will be a healthy scratch, after having a successful rookie campaign last season. The 20-year old scored 18 goals and 37 points playing most of the year as a teenager and looked like a future star in the league. Though this obviously doesn’t mean much for Fabbri’s future, sitting him in the press box is a strong message that they need more from him; he’s currently sitting on just four points in 14 games.
- The team announced that Carter Hutton will be in net tonight when they take on the Nashville Predators, his old team. Hutton spent the past three seasons with the club, recording a 33-23-12 record and strong .910 save percentage. After the Blues dealt Brian Elliott to the Flames this summer, they were in need of a backup to Jake Allen and Hutton fit the bill perfectly. The 30-year old took a little longer to develop, but is now showing his worth; he’s carrying a .926 through four games.
- The Blues have recalled Chris Butler for tonight’s game due to some lingering injuries on the back end. As Korac reports, it’s just precautionary should anyone not be able to go after the warmups. Hitchcock singled out Carl Gunnarsson as the most noticable injury. Butler has played eleven games for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this season, recording two points and eight penalty minutes.
Snapshots: Larsson, Sabres, Minor Moves
It was one of the most controversial moves of the summer, but so far the Adam Larsson–Taylor Hall trade isn’t looking as bad as many in Edmonton expected, writes David Staples of the Edmonton Journal.
Staples notes Devils GM Ray Shero is one of the strongest proponents of the trade, and why wouldn’t he be? His Devils are in a playoff spot and Hall is tied for the Devils scoring lead. But he also believes the Oilers got what they needed, according to Kevin Allen of USA Today.
“The Oilers have taken a lot of grief over this, but has anybody sat down and watched Larsson? He’s actually pretty good.”
Shero pointed to Edmonton’s desperate need for a good, young defenseman to go with their young offensive forwards, while the Devils desperately needed an offensive catalyst like Hall.
“You have to make a team, and that is challenging in a salary cap world… They are off to a great start this season. That says something.”
Staples take on the trade is that he likes Larsson’s game, but doesn’t love it yet. He’s had the occasional struggle, but he’s also playing incredibly tough minutes with a skilled but inexperienced parter in Oscar Klefbom. Staples gives the trade a passing grade, with the note that Hall is clearly the better player but the Oilers got what they needed.
- Meanwhile, only one defense core in the NHL has yet to score a goal this season. Despite having weapons like Rasmus Ristolainen and Cody Franson, none of the Buffalo Sabres defensemen have scored. They have contributed 14 assists, however eight of those belong to Ristolainen. Franson told Bill Hoppe that he couldn’t “care less if I scored one goal in a season,” saying he prefers to get assists. Coach Dan Bylsma isn’t concerned with the lack of production, but would like his defensemen to be more aggressive.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled LW Markus Hannikainen from the Cleveland Monsters. The undrafted Hannikainen has seven points in 11 games for the Monsters so far.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled LW Roman Lyubimov from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was sent down to the AHL on Wednesday; Sam Carchidi reported it was simply a paper transaction made for salary cap reasons. Lyubimov has one goal in 11 NHL games so far this season. Carchidi also noted that it appears Chris Vande Velde will be a healthy scratch, despite scoring twice in the last four games.
- Rookie center Noel Acciari did not take part in Boston Bruins practice on Thursday morning, according to Joe Haggerty. He hasn’t skated since suffering a lower-body injury on Monday night versus the Sabres.
Vancouver Canucks Send Jake Virtanen To AHL
2:57pm: GM Jim Benning told reporters, including Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province, that Virtanen will play on Friday and Saturday with Utica, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, and will then be recalled back to the NHL.
1:49pm: In a somewhat-shocking decision, the Vancouver Canucks have sent Jake Virtanen to the AHL. The 20-year old forward has just one assist in ten games with the Canucks this season.
While Virtanen has been mostly ineffective this season (as has most of the Canucks roster), it’s surprising that the team would send their young prospect down just ten games into the season, after seeing him play 55 games with the club a season ago. The team has given him barely any ice time this season, leading Virtanen to question Willie Desjardins’ decision to keep him on the fourth line.
Drafted sixth overall in 2014, Virtanen hasn’t become the top player that Vancouver had hoped. While other top picks from that draft are finding success across the league – namely William Nylander and Nikolaj Ehlers, drafted 8th and 9th respectively – Virtanen has yet to find his stride in the NHL.
It’s way too early to make a claim of “bust” for Virtanen, who only turned 20 on August 17th of this year, but for a team like Vancouver who are stuck somewhere between trying to compete and trying to rebuild, it would be a huge boost if he could find his offensive game. Now, he’ll have to look in the minors, a place that is totally unfamiliar to him. Virtanen has only played two games in the AHL in his career.
Cole Schneider Recalled By Buffalo Sabres
According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, the Sabres will recall forward Cole Schneider prior to tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. No word on a corresponding move, though as reported earlier Ryan O’Reilly is questionable and Tyler Ennis is out.
Schneider is an established AHL scorer off to a blistering start this season with the Rochester Americans. Fifteen points in ten games leads the club and ties him for the league lead. A three time 20-goal scorer, he’s proven his offensive ability at the lower level and now much try to prove that he can contribute in the NHL.
The Sabres currently find themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and looking for a way to score more goals; they currently rank 29th in goals for with just 25 in 12 games.
Pacific Notes: Lindholm, Gaudet, Injuries
Hampus Lindholm will make his long awaited debut tonight for the Anaheim Ducks, figuring into the lineup after a long hold out and visa process. While the team is off to a 6-5-2 start without him, he’ll be a welcome addition to a blueline that has already lost Simon Despres for an indefinite period.
Lindholm is one of the more underrated skaters in the league, with his smooth possession style falling somewhat under the radar. He’ll likely take the place of Korbinian Holzer, who had worked his way into the lineup after the team sent Shea Theodore back to the AHL.
- After just a single game with the big club, the Arizona Coyotes have decided to send Tyler Gaudet back to the AHL. Gaudet got into the match against the Colorado Avalanche last night, but will now retake his spot with Tucson where he was off to a good start. The 23-year old has five points in eight games at the minor league level.
- On the ice today for the Coyotes were Michael Stone and Mike Smith, two key injuries the team has been fighting. Stone has gotten into just four games this season between two injury stints, while Smith has been out since October 23rd with a lower-body injury. Louis Domingue has taken the reigns in his absence and fared poorly, notching an .896 save percentage through ten games. The Coyotes will need both Stone and Smith to make quick returns should they hope to keep the playoffs within sight.
Atlantic Notes: Leafs Skate, Soshnikov, Blunden
In a scene from a mid-90’s sports movie, the power went out at Maple Leafs practice today as the team was put through a hard practice by head coach Mike Babcock. The Leafs lost 7-0 to the Los Angeles Kings last night and, as Morgan Rielly put it (via Pierre LeBrun)“I think we all understood if we didnt skate last night we were going to skate today.” The young Leafs were on a three game winning streak before getting dismantled by the experienced Kings.
- Also from practice today, Nikita Soshnikov was absent according to David Alter of NHL.com. With a groin injury, the coaching staff didn’t want to put him through the high-tempo practice. Soshnikov only just returned from injury a few games ago, but has contributed two points already and saw time with Auston Matthews during the loss.
- Despite saying that Craig Anderson would be the starter whenever he was with the team, Mike Condon will start for the Sens tonight, according to head coach Guy Boucher. Condon recorded a shutout in his first game for the Sens last week.
- Mike Blunden will be recalled from Binghamton to play tonight for the Senators, though no word has been given on who he’ll be replacing. The 29-year old has four points in nine AHL games thus far.
- According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Jonathan Drouin is working out on his own, and still has no timetable to return to the Lightning. Drouin was injured a week ago on a hit from Calvin de Haan. Coach Jon Cooper says he’s “gradually coming along” in his recovery.
Nashville Returns Harry Zolnierczyk To Milwaukee
The Nashville Predators have assigned Harry Zolnierczyk to the AHL today, after playing just one game for the big club this season. The forward was originally called up when the team came down with food poisoning, but was a scratch for most of the season.
The 29-year old has been in limbo between the AHL and NHL for the last few years, able to jump onto a fourth line at any time but hardly getting any chances. Once a pretty strong scoring threat in the AHL, Zolnierczyk has only played 29 games since the end of the 2014-15 season.
The demotion might mean that captain Mike Fisher is close to a return; he’s been out with an upper-body injury since last Tuesday. Listed as day-to-day, getting Fisher back into the lineup would be an important move for a struggling Predators team.
LeBrun’s Latest: Budaj, Trouba, Hanzal
When the Los Angeles Kings lost not just Jonathan Quick but Jeff Zatkoff as well in the span of a few days, panic immediately set in for a franchise known for its excellent goaltending over the years. Even with Peter Budaj, an experienced NHL netminder coming in to start, the team was looking everywhere to find some help in net. That might have come to an end, says Pierre LeBrun in his latest column, as Budaj has performed extremely well and Zatkoff is back from injury. The team has stopped looking for help and is at least somewhat comfortable with the Budaj/Zatkoff tandem for now.
Budaj, the AHL goalie of the year in 2015-16, has posted a .912 save percentage and 2.06 GAA in ten games, including a shutout of the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The former Colorado and Montreal netminder has a ton of NHL experience over the years, and at 34 is still playing well enough to help the Kings. Zatkoff will likely figure in a bit more as the season stretches on, though he does have much less experience.
- Even though Jacob Trouba has signed on for two years and said that he’s ‘committed’ to the Winnipeg Jets, doesn’t sway LeBrun from thinking he’ll eventually be dealt. Though head coach Paul Maurice has said he’ll use Trouba in a variety of situations in order to keep him involved, the conviction that led to his holdout can’t possibly have all dissipated at this point. Trouba still wants to be a top pairing blueliner on the right side, something that simply won’t happen in Winnipeg, at least not right now.
- It’s an open competition in Colorado now, as the net will be shared between Semyon Varlamov and Calvin Pickard. Though Varlamov came into the season as the clear No. 1, the younger Pickard has played extremely well and forced himself into the conversation. A .946 save percentage even if it is just a few games. With the Avalanche going after a playoff spot this year, they can’t afford to wait for Varlamov’s game to come around.
- When you turn your calendar over to February in a few months, make sure you make a note to watch for Martin Hanzal rumors. LeBrun feels as though the Coyotes center – who’s injured at the moment – is an easy pick for a deadline deal. An unrestricted free agent at season’s end, he’s always had the talent to change a game. Health has always been a factor for Hanzal though, who just can’t seem to stick in a lineup for a full year. LeBrun believes that the Coyotes would need a young player, and not just picks, in return.