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Ducks Reassign Noesen, Theodore To San Diego

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The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned defenseman Shea Theodore and forward Stefan Noesen to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, the team has announced. Both players have already made this commute several times already this season as the Ducks take advantage of breaks in their schedule to reduce their daily salary cap commitments and bank space ahead of this year’s trade deadline.

Noesen, originally acquired by the Ducks in the Bobby Ryan trade, has appeared in just nine games this season and has tallied a single goal, the first of his brief NHL career. He was selected by Ottawa with the 21st pick in the 2011 entry draft and was shipped by the Senators along with fellow forward Jakob Silfverberg and a 2014 first-round draft choice – a pick which turned into Nick Ritchie – in the July 5, 2013 trade sending Ryan to Ottawa.

Theodore has dressed for 23 games this season for the Ducks and has registered seven points. He was drafted by Anaheim in the first round of the 2013 entry draft with the 26th overall selection. For his career, the native of Langley, British Columbia has seen action in 42 contests, recording four goals and 11 assists while averaging better than 18 minutes of ice time per game.

Minor Transactions: 1/17/2017

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The Anaheim Ducks continue to use frequent promotions and demotions to their advantage. With their AHL affiliate now right down the road, and not somewhere on the Eastern seaboard, it has become much easier and less costly to swap young players in and out and the Ducks are at it once again. Anaheim announced last night that defenseman Shea Theodore and forward Stefan Noesen are heading to the San Diego Gulls. Theodore has been back and forth a few different times so far in 2016-17, as he searches for consistency. In 19 NHL games last season, Theodore had three goals and five assists and was a +7. Through 23 games this year, he has just one goal and six assists while playing to a -7. With all of the blue line depth that the Ducks enjoy, they can afford to let Theodore find his game in the AHL (nine points in eleven games) and still call him up when necessary. Noesen, a 2011 first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators who was acquired alongside Jakob Silfverberg in the Bobby Ryan trade, has not panned out like Silfverberg has. Noesen has played in just eleven NHL games, nine of which have come this season, and has recorded just a single point. Quickly approaching 24-years-old, Noesen appears to be a bona fide bust.

Update (1:00pm CT): After demoting Theodore and Noesen last night, the Ducks have promoted the same pair this afternoon. Anaheim continues to be the poster-team for AHL transactions in 2016-17, squeezing ever little bit of salary cap savings they can out of numerous moves.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Penguins announced that they have recalled defenseman Cameron Gaunce from their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  They also re-assigned fellow blueliner David Warsofsky to the minors.  This will be Gaunce’s first stint with Pittsburgh after joining the team in the offseason.  He has two goals and six assists with the Baby Pens this season.  As for Warsofsky, he got into two games with Pittsburgh since last being recalled.  On the season, he has suited up in six games with the team, being held off the scoresheet.  In 24 AHL games though, he has fared much better, tallying 28 points.
  • The Oilers announced that they have re-assigned blueliner Jordan Oesterle to Bakersfield of the AHL.  He did not get into a game with Edmonton after being recalled by the team on Sunday.  In 18 minor league contests this year, he has three goals and eight assists.
  • Having already claimed defenseman Brad Hunt and placed defenseman Petter Granberg on the injured reserve, a busy morning continued for the Nashville Predators as they re-assigned rookie forward Kevin Fiala to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. The Swiss winger has six goals and three assists on the season and has shown flashes of brilliance, but could use some more seasoning in order to build a more complete game. When the Predators can find him some extra play time down in the AHL, it only stands to help his development.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have sent impressive prospect Michael McCarron back down to the St. John’s Ice Caps of the AHL. The 2013 first-rounder was called up to help Montreal deal with a slew of injuries, but with the team getting healthier he has been returned to the minors. In 15 games with the Canadiens, McCarron registered a goal and three assists and didn’t look out of place at all. However, the 21-year-old will benefit more this season from top-six time with the Ice Caps than bottom-six play with the Canadiens. Look for McCarron to challenge for a full-time spot on the team next season. Or, if Montreal’s injury luck continues, it will be much sooner that he returns to the NHL.
  • Tim Heed and Ryan Carpenter will have to change locker rooms again, as the San Jose Sharks announced that the pair have been demoted to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda (down the hall to the right). The 25-year-old defenseman Heed is fresh off of his NHL debut last week, having been recalled due to his excellent AHL numbers. Heed is second in the minors in defenseman scoring with 31 points in 28 games with the Barracuda. Carpenter played three games for the Sharks back in November, skating on the team’s energy line, but has not made it into a game in any of his subsequent call-ups in 2016-17.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they have recalled young defenseman Jake Dotchin from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. This is the first career call-up for Dotchin, who has become relevant within the organization as he enjoys a career year. In his third season with the Crunch, Dotchin is on pace to shatter his pro career-high of 20 points, set back in 2014-15, and is also a +10 after back-to-back minus seasons. The big, two-way defenseman only put up modest numbers in his OHL junior career as well and was a sixth-round selection back in 2012, so he has had to put in a lot of hard work to get to where he is and has earned a promotion. If Dotchin suits up for the Lightning tonight, he will be the 30th different player to line up for Tampa this season.
  • Following last night’s legendary contest, the Washington Capitals have returned Chandler Stephenson to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. However, Stephenson didn’t play in the game against the Penguins, or any game for that matter, in this most recent call-up, nor did he play in his earlier promotion this season. After being held scoreless in nine games in Washington last season, it seems the Capitals are in no rush to get the play-making forward back into the NHL lineup.

Minor Transactions: 1/12/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s comings and goings with the minor leagues:

  • The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Scott Mayfield from AHL Bridgeport. He will take the place of Travis Hamonic on the active roster, who has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 7th.  Mayfield has played in three games with the Isles this season, picking up a goal and two assists.  He has spent the bulk of the season in the minors where he has three tallies and three helpers in 23 contests.
  • Nashville announced the recall of defenseman Alexandre Carrier from Milwaukee of the AHL. Carrier, a fourth round pick of the Predators back in 2015, has had a strong rookie season in the minor leagues, recording 22 points (4-18-22) in 35 games, earning himself a spot in the AHL All-Star Game.
  • With their bye week set to come to an end, the Coyotes announced that they have recalled center Laurent Dauphin and winger Brendan Perlini from their AHL affiliate in Tucson. Dauphin has spent the bulk of the season with Arizona, recording three points in 21 games while producing at a point-per-game clip in 11 minor league contests.  As for Perlini, he has suited up in 15 NHL games, scoring four goals and an assist while adding 19 points (14-5-19) in 17 games with the Roadrunners.
  • After just three games with AHL Hartford, the Rangers have recalled (Twitter link) winger Pavel Buchnevich.  The Russian rookie made an early impact this season, recording four goals and four assists in ten games before back spasms took him out of the lineup for nearly two months.  New York had sent Buchnevich down to get back into game shape and evidently they’re pleased with how performed; he had a goal and an assist in his three minor league contests.
  • Pittsburgh has assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).  He did not get into any action with the Penguins after being recalled on January 6th.  Ruhwedel has suited up in five NHL games this season, recording a goal and and an assist.
  • The Ducks announced that they have assigned center Chris Wagner to AHL San Diego.  The 25 year old has three goals in 25 games with Anaheim this season and cleared waivers back in mid-November.  Recently, the team had experimented with playing him on the wing; that type of versatility may come in handy as he pushes to be the next player recalled from the Gulls.

Snapshots: Burmistrov, Canucks, Ducks

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Since being selected off waivers on January 2nd, Alexander Burmistrov has still yet to make it to Arizona due to work visa issues. Now, according to Dave Vest the team’s director of news content, Burmistrov has his visa and is just waiting to get his passport back from the government. As soon as he does, he’ll fly out to Arizona and join the team.

The Coyotes hope he’ll be ready to play on Friday, when they’ll begin to evaluate what they have. The former top-10 draft pick has just two points this season and hasn’t developed into the dominant two-way center the Jets had hoped for when they selected him. The Coyotes will use the rest of this year to determine if they can find some use for him going forward, or if he’s just another busted prospect.

  • Pierre LeBrun says the Vancouver Canucks will not trade away draft picks for a short-term gain to get them into the playoffs. That would jive with what Frank Seravalli said earlier today when he said that gaining draft picks would probably be the priority for GM Jim Benning. LeBrun does say that if they could acquire a young player capable of contributing for the next few years they’d be open to it, but realistically who wouldn’t?
  • There’s a nasty flu going around the Anaheim Ducks room, reports Adrian Dater of Bleacher Report. That’s not good as starting tomorrow night the team has five games in eight nights and are fighting the San Jose Sharks for the first seed in the Pacific division. Luckily, they’ll face the hapless Avalanche twice during those games, with another one against the Coyotes to boot.
  • Dylan DeMelo will be out a couple of weeks, according to Kevin Kurz of CSN. The defenseman was seen in a cast tonight before the team’s game against the Calgary Flames. With DeMelo out, Tim Heed may work his way in on the bottom pairing at some point.

Maple Leafs Trade Jhonas Enroth To Anaheim

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The rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs never sleeps, not even on the team’s bye-week.

Just after midnight, the Maple Leafs traded Jhonas Enroth to the Anaheim Ducks for a 7th-round pick in 2018. Unlike the Jonathan Bernier trade, there is no conditional nature to the pick, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The deal comes just hours after the Maple Leafs claimed Curtis McElhinney on waivers.

McElhinney is considered a big upgrade over Enroth, at least by this season’s numbers. In seven games this season, McElhinney has a 0.924 save percentage, much better than Enroth’s 0.872 SV% in six appearances. However, six or seven games is not much to judge a goaltender by, as Enroth’s career SV% is slightly higher (0.909 vs 0.905). Enroth failed to gain the confidence of head coach Mike Babcock, and that’s not a good sign for any player on the rebuilding Leafs.

The trade is relatively small but a win-win overall. The Maple Leafs are able to move on from Enroth and move a contract from their 50-man list, while Enroth will give the Ducks some insurance as both of their AHL goaltenders, Dustin Tokarski and Matt Hackett, are currently battling injuries. Enroth and his $750K contract will report to the San Diego Gulls.

Back in Toronto, their minor-league goaltenders will get a chance to develop further. Antoine Bibeau has been solid in his two NHL starts with a 0.927 SV% and a GAA below two, but he’s better served by playing games in the AHL instead of sitting on the bench. Garret Sparks has yet to be given a chance at the NHL level this season.

The Leafs had previously explored the possibility of signing Karri Ramo, but he suffered a setback in his recovery and was forced to undergo another surgery last month. He’s expected to be ready to go in February, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Goalie Extensions And The Expansion Draft

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In-season extensions in the NHL are not all that common. In-season extensions of pedestrian back-up goalies are even more rare. So the recent re-signings of Al Montoya by the Montreal Canadiens and Dustin Tokarski by the Anaheim Ducks likely stuck out to many as being strange, especially when they occurred within days of each other. While the Habs may talk about their desire for a “quality backup” to Carey Price and the Ducks say they need depth in net behind John Gibson with Jonathan Bernier headed to free agency, the teams and players know what the reality of these extensions are and fans should too. Montoya and Tokarski earned extensions not because of their play, but simply because of their mere existence as goalies on their respective teams. They won’t be the last either, as the impending NHL Expansion Draft will force a few other teams to make a move in net before it’s too late.

When the NHL laid out rules for this June’s Expansion Draft, they required that each team leave at least one eligible goalie exposed. For the majority of teams, this wasn’t a difficult criteria to meet. They could protect their starter as long as they had any other goalie with two years of pro experience and term on their contract. For a select few though, it remained a problem that needed to be solved in-season. Montreal and Anaheim were two such teams. Heading into 2016-17, the Candiens has a goalie stable of Price, Montoya, who they signed to a one-year deal this summer, and impending unrestricted free agent Mike Condon. Without any extension or acquisition, Montreal would have been forced to expose the best goalie in the world as their other two keepers held no further term on their contracts. After Condon failed to clear waivers earlier this season, it left the Habs with just two options: extend the veteran Montoya or trade for a third goaltender with term. Since many other teams are depending on their under-contract backups for expansion protection, it was a much easier task to extend Montoya, and given his early-season success, it became an even more obvious decision. While the journeyman goalie is happy to have a “permanent” home into his mid-30’s and the best deal of his career, the true intention of the Canadiens is to offer him up to the Vegas Golden Knights instead of their MVP, Price. Meanwhile in Anaheim, the league’s deepest goalie group also would not be able to protect their starter. The Ducks have five good-to-decent goalies signed, but the best of the bunch, Gibson, was the only one signed beyond 2017. The 23-year-old is coming off the best season of his young career and looking good again in 2016-17. There was no way that they could leave him exposed, but NHL backup Bernier was headed to unrestricted free agency, as were AHLers Tokarski and Matt Hackett and former college standout Kevin Boyle was ineligible for selection. With trading for yet another goalie not much of an option, Anaheim was left with three choices for extension. Bernier would be the most expensive to re-sign, and has also had a disappointing season, so it came down to a choice between San Diego Gulls’ keepers. Neither has impressed this season, but the Ducks chose to keep the more seasoned Tokarski around as depth. Tokarski stands almost no chance of being selected by Las Vegas, but will serve to protect Gibson and will stay employed in pro hockey a while longer.

Two more teams have similar decisions to make in 2017. As soon as the Expansion Draft rules came down, the Philadelphia Flyers knew that they were in somewhat of a pickle. Both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth were impending free agents and only the then-unproven Anthony Stolarz was an eligible goalie to be exposed. The Flyers’ situation has become only more difficult as both Mason and Neuvirth have struggled this season, while Stolarz made his NHL debut and looked good in a short stint as Mason’s backup. A young, promising goalie would almost surely be picked up by the Knights, so Stolarz now needs to be protected. However, are Mason or Neuvirth worthy of an extension? Maybe not, but the Flyers may look to simply use one or the other to bridge the gap to their talented goalie prospects. Mason may even be good enough that he is looked at by Las Vegas, but only time will tell. Expect the Flyers to extend Mason, or possibly Neuvirth, or else make a trade prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Minnesota Wild are also in this predicament, but their situation seems more cut-and-dry. Devan Dubnyk is the only goaltender on the roster who is eligible for exposure, but he has been a revelations since arriving in Minnesota, transforming into one of the best goalies in the NHL. The Wild won’t leave him exposed, but have the option of simply handing out an affordable extension to backup Darcy Kuemper or AHL starter Alex Stalock. Kuemper has seen a bit of a drop-off in 2016-17, but has been solid during his career in Minnesota. It seems likely that the Wild reward him with an extension, even if it carries a risk of him being selected in the Expansion Draft.

Should either team instead opt to make a trade, either just for the purposes of expansion or for added depth in the postseason, there are a few teams who could be sellers. The Columbus Blue Jackets could look to move one of their talented young goalies rather than risk losing them for nothing in the draft, and could afford to do so with all three of Joonas Korpisalo, Anton Forsberg, and Oscar Dansk being eligible for selection. The New York Islanders have moved on from Jaroslav Halak and could move him without repercussions. Similar acquisitions on the more expensive side could be Dallas’ Antti Niemi or Kari Lehtonen. The St. Louis Blues may be looking to add another high-end goalie to share the net with Jake Allen, in which case Carter Hutton could also become available. However, trading will be more difficult and more expensive for Philadelphia and Minnesota, especially if they end up competing with each other or with teams in need of a goalie for non-expansion reasons. The simple solution to the problems posed by the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft are more easily solved by extension, as Montreal and Anaheim have shown, so expect to hear about Mason, Kuemper, Neuvirth, or Stalock in the not too distant future.

Pacific Division Snapshots: Vermette, Heed, Mueller, Tryamkin

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It came as a bit of a surprise when the Arizona Coyotes bought out the final season of forward Antoine Vermette’s contract. Joining the ranks of the unemployed in August is not ideal for any free agent as most teams have already expended their available salary cap space and have essentially finalized their rosters by that point. Fortunately for Vermette, Anaheim decided to roll the dice and add the veteran pivot, signing him to a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.75MM. As Sarah McLellan of AZ Central writes, while Vermette was certainly disappointed to move on from Arizona, the situation in Southern California has worked out quite well for the former Coyote, Blue Jacket, Senator and Blackhawk.

Through 41 games with the Ducks, Vermette has scored seven goals and registered 18 points while winning 64.3% of the faceoffs he has taken. Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle is glad to have the veteran two-way center around.

“We’re lucky to have him,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “He fits in with our group. He displays a work ethic, and (he’s) a true professional day-in, day-out. So (he) can’t help but be positive for our group.”

The buyout surprised Vermette but he focuses on the positives of his time in the desert and not the way it ended.

“I made some good friends,” Vermette said. “I had some good times. We had our share of success. Good memories collectively and personally, also. That’s not going to take it away. Obviously, I would have liked it to be different at the end, but that was absolutely out of my control and you gotta move on.”

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • It’s been a busy week for San Jose Sharks defenseman Tim Heed. The 25-year-old was recalled from the AHL Thursday, reassigned to the Barracuda Friday, then brought back to the Sharks on an emergency basis in advance of Saturday’s game against Detroit. Fortunately Heed didn’t have to travel too far as both the Barracuda and Sharks were playing at home this weekend. Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer thought about inserting Heed into the lineup tonight in place of former first-round draft pick Mirco Mueller but ultimately decided against it, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. “We think Mirco deserves a chance to play again here, but there’s people knocking on the door for that opportunity too,” DeBoer said, “and Mirco needs to understand that.” DeBoer’s remarks should be taken as a warning to Mueller that he isn’t performing up to expectations. However, Mueller is still just 21-years-old and has only two games of NHL experience this season. Defensemen tend to take longer to develop than forwards so there is still plenty of time to find his way in the league.
  • Nikita Tryamkin, whose development into a reliable blue liner has been a bright spot this season for Vancouver, had trouble cracking the club’s lineup early in the campaign and at one point refused to accept a conditioning assignment to Utica, as the opt-out clause in his contract allowed him to do. Tryamkin believed in himself and knew he was able to contribute at the NHL level and as Jason Botchford writes in a piece for The Province, it’s now clear the Russian defenseman was correct. However, if Vancouver had not relented and had instead kept Tryamkin in the press box, it’s possible the young blue liner would have considered a return home. Fortunately for both parties, injuries on the blue line created an opportunity for Tryamkin and he has taken advantage of it. The 6-foot-7 defender is one of only two Canucks with a plus rating and has added five points in 31 games. One thing that made an impression on Canucks bench boss Willie Desjardins was Tryamkin’s work to get into game shape “You look where he is now, and you have to think he did a great job (of handling it),” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “He wanted to play. He did not want to sit. He was not happy when we didn’t play him. I felt, for him to be his best, he had to change his (fitness) to be ready. It’s not that he ever accepted it, but he worked at it and did it.” 

 

Custance’s Latest: Sizing Up The Trade Market

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With the trade deadline now less than two months away, we’re starting to see more speculation (and hope) regarding the state of the trade market.  ESPN’s Craig Custance provides a pair of articles (one for the East and one for the West – Insider required for both) to provide an overview of how things are currently looking.  The full articles are certainly worth a read but here are some of the highlights:

  • The Coyotes are “asking for stupid returns because they know they can”. With them and the Avalanche basically being the only two guaranteed sellers, they know it’s a sellers’ market and can wait to see if someone wants to blink.  Center Martin Hanzal and defenseman Michael Stone, both pending unrestricted free agents, are the most likely to move although right winger Radim Vrbata is also a potential UFA and could be a candidate to move.
  • Given that Anaheim is largely capped out plus the pending expansion draft, Custance expects that if the Ducks are going to be active in the trade market, it will be more of a player-for-player ‘hockey trade’ than one that sees them move futures for short-term help. Anaheim is one of nine teams currently using LTIR to stay in compliance with the salary cap.
  • There has been no movement on a potential contract extension for Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk who is expected to be one of the top free agents this summer if he makes it to the open market. That puts a bit of pressure on GM Doug Armstrong – does he use him as an internal rental and risk letting a top free agent get away with no compensation in the summer like what happened with David Backes or trade him now, even if it hurts their postseason chances?
  • While big name goaltenders are at the forefront, Blue Jackets youngster Anton Forsberg could be a name to watch for. Sergei Bobrovsky is still the starter for at least a couple more years and Forsberg is set to be left unprotected in the expansion draft.  He’s pushing for a full-time roster spot with another strong season in AHL Cleveland and might garner some interest from teams that are lacking quality young netminders in their system.
  • Although Washington GM Brian McLellan has a reputation for being conservative when it comes to the trade market, their free agent situation could force them to be a bit more active than usual. Forwards T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, and defenseman Karl Alzner are among their potential UFAs and if they don’t believe they have the ability to keep or replace them all, their window to make a real push may be right now.

Pacific Notes: Eberle, Tryamkin, Ducks

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It has been a struggle in recent weeks for Oilers right winger Jordan Eberle.  He has been held goalless in his last 12 games and has recently been dropped to the third line.  As a result, the trade speculation has started to swirl once again, something that has been quite common for Eberle in recent years.  Speaking with TSN Radio 1260 in Edmonton, TSN’s Darren Dreger expects teams to start inquiring on his availability.  However, he expects the price to remain quite high (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):

“The ask for Jordan Eberle has always been high, understandably so, because he’s been one of the Edmonton Oilers’ players that is a big part of the core. But if he’s no longer that, even on a short-term basis, that’s going to ignite some kind of short-term market. But that doesn’t mean the Oilers are any more willing to trade him, unless the value is there.”

Eberle has two more years remaining on his contract after this season with a cap hit and salary of $6MM.  With his offensive track record (20+ goals in four of the last five years), there’s sure to be some interest throughout the league though the Oilers would most likely have to take a sizable contract back in return given the cap crunch many teams are facing.

Elsewhere around the Pacific:

  • Earlier this season, Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin refused to report to the AHL, even for a brief conditioning assignment. Considering how he has played since getting into the lineup on November 3rd, Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province argues that the controversial decision was the right one all along.  Since that first game, he has yet to be scratched since and has fit in nicely on Vancouver’s third pairing while head coach Willie Desjardins has praise for his improvement when it comes to his fitness.
  • Is the glass half full or half empty in Anaheim? Heading into their midway game of the season, there have been quite a few struggles along the way, as Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register notes.  They’ve won just two of ten games that have made it to overtime (both coming in the shootout), their goaltending has been up and down, while Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have both struggled to put the puck in the net, combining for just 12 goals.  Despite all that, they find themselves tied for first in the division with San Jose and find themselves seven points ahead of where they were in the standings through 40 games last season.

Anaheim Ducks Extend Dustin Tokarski

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Another goaltender has been extended early, as the Anaheim Ducks have extended Dustin Tokarski another year on a two-way deal. The team needed a goaltender to expose in the upcoming expansion draft or risk losing John Gibson.

Tokarski for his part hasn’t actually done much to deserve the extension, as he currently has a .889 save percentage in the AHL in 16 games. The team acquired Tokarski from Montreal in the middle of last season for prospect Max Friberg when Gibson was injured. He got into one game for the team earlier this season in relief.

This is the second backup or minor league goaltender, including Al Montoya the other day, that has received an extension well before it was necessary to do so. This is likely teams giving themselves some certainty heading into the unknown of the expansion draft. Every team needs to expose at least one goaltender that is signed through the 2017-18 season (or is an RFA this summer). Both Jonathan Bernier and Matt Hackett in Anaheim are free agents this summer.

Minnesota and Philadelphia are in similar situations, with Darcy Kuemper, Alex Stalock, Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth all becoming unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Expect them to make similar moves in the next few months to make sure that Devan Dubnyk and Anthony Stolarz can be protected.

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