Anaheim Ducks Recall Shea Theodore
After just assigning Shea Theodore to the AHL yesterday to make room for Hampus Lindholm, the team has brought him back up according to Steve Zipay of Newsday. Apparently, Lindholm has a visa issue and could take some time to arrive in Anaheim.
It’s unclear if Theodore even left the team, though since the AHL affiliate for the Ducks is San Diego, he could have easily been sent there and back in the last 24 hours. Neither team played yesterday.
Theodore is one of the league’s top defensive prospects, and is considered ready for the NHL by many outside observers. His poise with the puck and strong positional play make him a candidate for a top pairing down the road, though he’ll have to wait since the Ducks have such a deep blueline at the moment.
While there apparently is no rush to trade Cam Fowler even with the Lindholm extension, Theodore would clearly benefit most from a deal. He plays the same left side as Fowler, and would likely jump above Clayton Stoner quickly if given the chance. Lindholm, also a left-handed defenseman will likely resume his spot on the top pairing with Josh Manson when the team sorts out his visa issue.
Anaheim Ducks Assign Theodore, Etem To AHL
With the Anaheim Ducks signing of Hampus Lindholm earlier today, the team has decided to send defenceman Shea Theodore to the AHL along with the recently claimed and then waived Emerson Etem.
Theodore, one of the leagues top defensive prospects, made his debut last season for the Ducks and scored eight points in 19 games. The 21-year old was the team’s first-round pick in 2013 and has blossomed into an excellent puck moving defender capable of putting up handfuls of points while containing the other team in his own end. While there apparently isn’t room on the blueline for him as of now, the team would likely bring him back up if a trade was worked out for Cam Fowler as has been widely rumored.
Etem was only claimed two weeks ago from the Vancouver Canucks, but this time has made it through waivers and will join the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. A former first-round pick in his own right, Etem has never been able to replicate the success he had in junior when he scored 107 points in 65 games. A gifted goal-scorer, he’s never been able to improve enough in the other areas of his game to keep him in the NHL for long. He’ll head back down to continue to work, and at 24 is far from a lost cause.
Snapshots: Trouba, Ducks, Goaltending
In the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN, the panel of Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun discussed a number of subjects. One of them was Jacob Trouba, and the potential of a trade in his future. While Trouba has insisted all along that it isn’t about money in his contract dispute, the Jets are rumored to be willing to go to six-years, $33MM to get the defenceman under contract.
Even though it seems like most teams would want Trouba, Dreger reports that it doesn’t look like there is a fit anywhere in Canada. The Maple Leafs, Oilers and Canadiens have all been rumored to be interested in the 22-year old in the past.
- On Hampus Lindholm and a possible deal of Cam Fowler, LeBrun reports that it might not be as guaranteed as one would think. While it still seems likely that one of the Ducks young defenceman will have to be shipped out, the fact that Simon Despres has hit the LTIR and has no timetable on his return the team has a little more wiggle room under the salary cap.
- In Carolina, Dreger suggests that Ryan Murphy may be on the block, since he’ll likely be exposed at next year’s expansion draft. The 23-year old former first round pick split last season between the NHL and AHL levels.
- On the goaltending front, Los Angeles sounds like they’re putting all their eggs in the Peter Budaj basket for now. They’re waiting for Mike Condon to hit waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that may not happen for a while as Pittsburgh wants to try and keep or get an asset for the young goaltender.
Maple Leafs Notes: Andersen, Griffith, Reimer
When Toronto Maple Leafs saw rookie Auston Matthews score four goals in a losing effort, it was a sign of things to come for the team this season. Despite scoring 21 goals in 6 games, and taking leads into the third period a handful of times, the team is 1-2-3 as they head into tonight’s matchup with the Florida Panthers.
Jamie McLennan of TSN broke down what he thinks is one of the key factors in their record and analyzed the weak play of Frederik Andersen. McLennan says that Andersen has allowed at least one “bad goal” in each game this season, deflating the team and allowing the opposition to come back. It’s not all bad for Andersen though, as the TSN panelist says that his team defense hasn’t helped him very much through the first few games. He’ll be in net when they take on the Panthers.
- Seth Griffith will work his way into the lineup for the Leafs tonight, his first game of the season since being claimed on waivers October 11th. The former Boston Bruin is a dangerous offensive talent that hasn’t been able to find his footing in the NHL thus far, but scored 77 points in 57 AHL games last season. He’ll start on the fourth line, taking Peter Holland‘s place alongside another recently claimed player in Ben Smith.
- James Reimer will make his return to Toronto as a member of the Florida Panthers tonight, though in a backup role to Roberto Luongo. While Reimer was somewhat of a divisive character among Leafs fans during his tenure with the team, he does rank among the leaders in many all-time categories among Toronto netminders. While he’ll most likely be remembered best for the collapse in game 7 against Boston three years ago, he also could have likely been a part of the re-build had they not decided to go after Andersen this summer.
Shane Prince Activated From Injured Reserve
Isles winger Shane Prince has been activated from the injured reserve list. The 23-year old was put on the shelf more than 10 days ago after suffering a lower-body injury against the Washington Capitals.
After scoring 43 goals in his final season in junior, Prince took the AHL by storm becoming a 65-point player in 2014-15. He got into 42 games for the Senators last season before being dealt (along with a seventh rounder) for a third-round pick at the deadline. Prince was part of the Islanders’ playoff run, scoring four points in eleven games, including a two-goal effort in game 1 of the second round.
A second-round pick from 2011, Prince has yet to find consistency at the NHL level but is still regarded as a potential top-six scorer in the future. While injury has slowed the start of the year, he’ll likely be back in the lineup tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Canucks Place Tanev On IR, Recall LW Zalewski
The Vancouver Canucks, already minus three regular forwards, have placed blue liner Chris Tanev on IR, tweets Ben Kuzma. He’ll be eligible to be taken off IR in seven days. To take his spot on the roster, Vancouver promoted LW Michael Zalewski from the team’s AHL affiliate in Utica.
Tanev has appeared in six games and collected one assist while averaging just more than 20 minutes of ice time per game. Among regular blue liners, only Ben Hutton and Alexander Edler have averaged more playing time than Tanev. Earlier this week the Canucks brought up young defenseman Troy Strecher to cover for the absence of Tanev.
As mentioned above, the Canucks are down three forwards, with Derek Dorsett, Anton Rodin and Alexandre Burrows already on IR. Zalewski’s addition to the roster gives the Canucks 13 healthy forwards. Zalewski has appeared in five career NHL games and has recorded two assists. In 118 AHL contests with Utica over parts of the last three seasons, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound forward has tallied 19 goals with 27 assists and adding 72 minutes in penalties.
Metro Division Snapshots: Carolina, Jooris, Buchnevich, McIlrath, Poulin
The Carolina Hurricanes, a team projected by some as a potential dark-horse in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, have won just one of their first six games and currently reside in the Metro Division basement. They’ll finally get a taste of home cooking Friday after starting the campaign on a six-game road trip as the Hurricanes will host the New York Rangers. Despite a respectable offense that is averaging three goals a game and a defense limiting opponents to the fourth-fewest shot attempts, Carolina has been undone by poor goaltending and as Ben Pope writes for Today’s Slapshot, it might be time for the Hurricanes to panic.
Cam Ward and Eddie Lack have combined for an 85.3% save percentage, the worst in the NHL, and have allowed four goals a game. Beyond the common numbers, the Hurricanes goalie duo is also performing at a below average level preventing goals against on low-, medium-, and high-danger shots, as Pope notes.
After just six games it’s fair to wonder about sample-size but Pope goes on to write that Ward, while sometimes making the spectacular save, has been a subpar netminder for much of his career. Lack, on the other hand, is nearly league-average in stopping shots from the outside but struggles mightily against attempts from in close.
Citing statistics available on Corsica.hockey, Pope opines the team’s defense hasn’t done the goalies any favors. Even though they have been excellent overall in suppressing shots, the ones they do allow have been of the medium-to-high-danger variety. The data shows 81.2% of the shots Carolina gives up are either of the medium of high-danger variety with the league average coming in at 63.4%.
Ultimately, the Hurricanes need better play between the pipes if they want to remain a relevant playoff contender. If that improvement doesn’t come internally, Carolina may have to scour the trade market to find a solution.
More from around the Metro Division:
- With Pavel Buchnvich expected to return to the lineup Friday the New York Rangers were facing a difficult decision regarding whom to remove from their 23-man roster to open a spot for the rookie forward. But the injury to Josh Jooris Wednesday night allowed the Rangers to delay that decision a little longer, writes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. However, instead of taking advantage of that opportunity, the Blueshirts this morning have placed Dylan McIlrath on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the club will likely send their 2010 first-round draft pick to Hartford of the AHL. McIlrath has suited up for just one game this season and has been a healthy scratch six times.
- Former New York Islander netminder Kevin Poulin has signed a deal with Barys of the KHL, tweets Igor Eronko of Sports Express. Poulin showed promise early in his career after debuting in the league with a 92.4% save percentage and a goals-against-average of 2.44 in 10 appearances as a 20-year-old back in 2010-11. It’s been downhill ever since with his save percentage declining in each subsequent campaign. Poulin last saw action in the league in 2014-15, starting once and allowing three goals on 26 shots. He appeared in 29 contests for Stockton in the AHL, winning 14 and stopping 90.9% of the attempts against.
Red Wings Notes: Ott, Mantha
Though it was a much maligned signing, Detroit Red Wings forward Steve Ott has filled a role that Detroit hasn’t had in quite a long time writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Ott, who is known more for his fists than his hands, has brought a physical element to a team rarely known for hitting. In Tuesday’s game against Carolina, Ott went after Viktor Stalberg following a brutal hit from the latter on Wings defenseman Mike Green. Though it resulted in a penalty, several of his teammates loved the reaction. Says Captain Henrik Zetterberg:
“Otter brings lots of things to the table. Some are intangibles that are more in the room and the energy he brings. We’ve talked lots about sticking up for each other and he did a good job in that situation.”
The Red Wings have had more of an edge this season, as Ott, Jonathan Ericsson and even Dylan Larkin have dropped the gloves at some point. The Detroit News’ Greg Krupa reports that the turn the other cheek mentality is certainly gone, and it’s part of a new identity that the Red Wings are trying to craft. Despite the new “snarl,” the Red Wings have been scoring at crucial times and getting insurance goals whereas during last season, games were often tense, one-goal decisions. Though Ott has made his presence known, it still hasn’t quieted critics who have seen the work Anthony Mantha is doing in Grand Rapids. And if the Wings want to continue scoring those insurance goals, they could find an answer down at the farm.
- In just five games, Mantha has scored six goals and has been turning heads. Though the Red Wings have started out 5-2, reeling off five consecutive wins following a pair of losses to open the season, Mantha finds himself blocked by the aforementioned Ott, Drew Miller, and Luke Glendening. While Andreas Athanasiou has seen more ice time, and made an impact during his play, Mantha is showing the scoring touch he was drafted for. It seems only a matter of time before Mantha forces his way onto the big club.
Senators Notes: Chabot, Lazar
Ottawa Senators rookie defenseman Thomas Chabot will be staying with the Ottawa Senators for the time being. Chabot made the Senators after a solid pre-season, but has only appeared in one game this season where he went -2 in seven minutes in a 7-4 win against the Arizona Coyotes.
Chabot still has one year of junior eligibility left, but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch quoted GM Pierre Dorion as saying a decision doesn’t need to be made right now. Dorion believes being around the NHL club isn’t hurting Chabot’s development.
The Senators handling of Chabot appears to be similar to the St. Louis Blues handling of Alex Pietrangelo. Also a first round pick, Pietrangelo played 8 games in 2008-09 before being returned to junior in mid-November, then played 9 games in the first half of 2009-10 before being loaned to Canada at the World Junior Championships and subsequently sent back to the OHL. Pietrangelo played his first full NHL season in 2010-11 and had 43 points. If Chabot ends up even close to the player that Pietrangelo is, then the Senators will be very happy.
Meanwhile, another Senators first round pick remains in Binghamton with no timetable for his return. Curtis Lazar was assigned to Binghamton at the end of training camp after battling mono through the summer. Lazar has spent two seasons with the Senators, scoring 15 and 20 points respectively. While the totals are not what a team would like from a first round pick, Lazar is a smart two-way player who should develop into a good middle-six forward who can score reliably. Lazar scored 169 points in 199 games with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings.
Two Players On Waiver Wire
Forwards Emerson Etem and Andrew Miller have been placed on waivers, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
Etem was a first round pick of the Ducks in 2010, before being traded to the Rangers. The Ducks claimed him off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month. Etem was held pointless in two games with the 2-3-2 Ducks. It’s not clear if he’ll be assigned to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL or remain with the Ducks.
Miller was injured in the pre-season and started the season on injured reserve. He’s healthy now, and is waivers for purpose of assignment to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Miller signed with the Hurricanes organization on July 1 after playing some of last season with the Checkers while on loan from the Edmonton Oilers’s farm team in Bakersfield in exchange for Zach Boychuk.