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Minor Transactions: 11/04/18

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It could be a quiet day on the NHL docket today with just three games on the schedule, but many teams will start making moves as early as today for the upcoming week. Check back throughout the day to see what moves teams have made today.

  • The Minnesota Wild have announced they have recalled defenseman Nate Prosser from the Iowa Wild after playing two games there on a conditioning stint. Prosser is trying to work his way back into the lineup as he has appeared in just one game for the Wild and only played a total of three minutes. The 32-year-old averaged 13:26 of ATOI last season for the Wild.
  • The Washington Capitals announced they had assigned defenseman Aaron Ness to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Ness was recalled Thursday to fill in as a seventh defenseman as Brooks Orpik was out of the lineup. With Ness returning to Hershey, that likely suggests that Orpik may be ready to return to the lineup. The 28-year-old Ness has played 11 games for the Bears this year, posting four assists.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have brought up center Sam Carrick, per a team release.  It’s his first stint with the big club this season after he cleared waivers late in September.  The 26-year-old has nine points in eight games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls while leading the team in goals and points.  If Carrick gets into a game with the Ducks, it will be his first NHL action since 2015-16.

Central Notes: Landeskog, Rinne, Schmaltz

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Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog has made quite a name for himself as he currently is tied for the NHL lead in goals scored with 11. That’s quite a feat for a player, who has averaged 20 goals a season for the past seven seasons, a number he could surpass before Thanksgiving. Regardless, Landeskog says most of his success comes from a combination of playing with the top line of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, as well as his growing skills and confidence on the ice, according to Sean Keeler of the Denver Post.

“It’s just a combination of luck and hard work and confidence, and being in the right place at the right time,” Landeskog said. “I think, right now, I don’t think there’s a reason maybe other than our line’s played really well and has been able to create some scoring chances. Together with those two guys, yeah, I’ve been able to put some in the back of the net.”

While Landeskog’s game could easily drop back to earth at any time, many feel that the 25-year-old, a former second-overall pick back in 2011, may just have finally found his game.

“I think he’s worked on (his shooting), he’s worked on his touch around the net,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He’s getting into those areas more, and he’s coming up with rebounds and loose pucks. And part of that is his teammates being able to move the puck into those areas on a more consistent basis.”

  • The Athletic’s Adam Vingan reports that one potential problem that could come with Pekka Rinne’s new two-year extension that he signed earlier today would be that there could be some expansion ramifications for the Nashville Predators. The scribe notes that since Rinne will have the same no-movement clause in his next contract, the Predators could be forced to protect Rinne and have to expose Juuse Saros to the Seattle expansion franchise in a couple of years. However, Rinne could opt to waive the no-movement clause as well and allow himself to be taken by Seattle like Marc-Andre Fleury did in Pittsburgh. Regardless, it’s too early to speculate, especially since the Seattle team hasn’t been formally approved.
  • After being scratched Thursday night, Chicago Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz feels that he has learned his lesson after picking up just one assist in the last five games, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus. “I don’t think I was playing as good as I can — especially in Vancouver, I didn’t think I had a very good game,” said Schmaltz. “Take it as a learning lesson and move on from it and make sure that I’m playing to stick in the lineup every night.”

Pacific Notes: Suomela, Pacioretty, Eaves

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The San Jose Sharks have done a nice job of re-making their roster over the past year, adding players like Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane to an already talented roster, but one area the team still needs help in is that the center position, particularly the third-line center position that was vacated by Chris Tierney when the Sharks traded him to the Ottawa Senators in the Karlsson move, according to Paul Gackle of The Mercury News.

After starting the season with Finnish import Antti Suomela for the first 13 games, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said he intends to sit Suomela and look at other options for that spot.

“I felt good until the last two games about our four-line game,” said DeBoer. “The answer to (the Tierney question) is internally in here. It’s just about guys grabbing that job and that opportunity.”

DeBoer believes that there are three in-house candidates who can take that center spot on the third line, including Suomela, Rourke Chartier and Dylan Gambrell. DeBoer hasn’t given up on Suomela being the answer, but notes that many players struggle after the first exciting stretch of games.

“You hit a little bit of a wall,” said DeBoer. “You take your foot off the gas a little bit. He’s out tonight and we’ll reset. He knows he can play in this league. He knows he can create offense in this league, but there’s a consistency to that compete level every night that maybe in some other leagues you don’t need. That’s something you have to learn.”

  • The Vegas Golden Knights believe winger Max Pacioretty is close to returning as the 29-year-old was a full participant in Saturday’s morning skate and while he is not playing in Saturday’s game against Carolina, is expected to join the team on their upcoming four-game roadtrip, according to David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Pacioretty has missed three straight games after taking a severe hit from Tampa Bay Lighning defenseman Braydon Coburn and is still listed as day-to-day. “Everything’s going real well,” coach Gerard Gallant said after practice. “He told me it’s going in the right direction. It’s a good sign.”
  • While Anaheim Ducks forward Patrick Eaves didn’t do anything significant in his first game back Thursday since missing all but two games last year due to illness and injury, but the veteran forward feels that he can make a difference for a struggling Ducks’ team. Even though expectations are low for Eaves, the 34-year-old veteran had a 32-goal season in 2016-17 and is capable of sparking the offense. “It’s hard to put any expectations on him other than, hopefully, he survives, gets through it and gets his feet underneath him,” Coach Randy Carlyle said. “It’s going to take him some time, so I’m going to withhold my assessment until maybe after the next game.”

Eastern Notes: Zacha, Dahlin, Neuvirth, Hagg, Martin

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While there were a number of people that were shocked when the New Jersey Devils assigned Pavel Zacha to Binghamton of the AHL, head coach John Hynes felt that the team needed to do something that would have an impact on the 21-year-old first-rounder. Despite having already played 150 NHL games in his career, Zacha was pointless in 10 games and Hynes felt just scratching him wasn’t going to be enough to spark him, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com.

“To scratch him one game and put him back in, we’re still not in a position right now where we could rely on him in key situations, and that’s what we need from him,” Hynes said. “We think it’s important that it’s not, ’Hey, sit in the stands for one game and watch.’ That is effective in some situations, but we need him to go down and play, and play a lot of minutes and play in situations and earn his confidence back and get his game back.”

The sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha hasn’t developed into the franchise player the team thought they were getting when they drafted him. He has so far only managed to total eight goals in two straight seasons, suggesting the team may have needed to give him time in the AHL before bringing him to the NHL. Zacha, who has played in just three AHL games in his career, needs to have time to regain his confidence while playing lots of minutes, something that he wasn’t going to get with the Devils.

  • While there is no official word on the injury, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who was forced to leave Saturday’s game against Ottawa in the second period after taking a shot off his leg, is expected to travel with the team to New York, suggesting that his injury may not be too serious, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. There is swelling, which means the team won’t be able to determine his status until tomorrow, according to The Athletic’s Jon Vogl. The team plays the Rangers on Sunday.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced that goaltender Michal Neuvirth has left the team and returned to Philadelphia to be checked out by doctors and could soon find himself back on injured reserve. The 30-year-old injury-prone goalie played in one game since being recalled from a conditioning stint on Oct. 25th, but allowed six goals in that lone start to the Islanders two days later, and now currently holds a .727 save percentage.
  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that one interesting development in Philadelphia is the offensive improvement surrounding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. The 23-year-old sophomore currently leads all defenseman, including Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, with seven points (just two points shy of his totals last year). The scribe says that Hagg has seemed more comfortable joining the rush and going deeper into the offensive zone than he was willing last season.
  • New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said fourth-line forward Matt Martin remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 29-year-old has combined with Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas to form an impressive energy line for the Islanders. Martin already has equaled last year’s goal total of three in just 11 games.

Nashville Predators Sign Pekka Rinne To Two-Year Extension

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The Nashville Predators announced they have signed Vezina Trophy winning goaltender Pekka Rinne to a two-year, $10MM contract extension (35+ contract). He will receive $6MM for the 2019-20 season and then $4MM for the 2020-21 season. Rinne is the team’s all-time leader in wins (315) and shutouts (52).

“Pekka Rinne has been the most impactful player our franchise has ever had, both on the ice as one of the NHL’s best goaltenders, and off the ice as a leader in the community,” Predators general manager David Poile said. “Both the organization and Pekka want him to play his entire career with the Predators, and this helps accomplish that objective, while also stabilizing our goaltending for at least the next two seasons beyond 2018-19. We feel the tandem of Pekka and Juuse Saros is among the best in the League.”

Rinne had the best season of his career in 2017-18, winning his first Vezina Trophy award, given to the league’s best goaltender. The then 35-year-old posted 42 wins, a 2.31 GAA and a .927 save percentage. Currently, despite missing some time with an injury, Rinne is still putting up solid numbers as he has a 1.91 GAA and a .944 save percentage in six appearances. Rinne is finishing up a seven-year, $49MM deal at $7MM per year. The new contract will see his AAV decline to $5MM per season. The Athletic’s Adam Vingan reports that Rinne will continue to have a no-trade clause and a modified no-movement clause on his deal with the same restrictions that he had on his previous deal, including a 10-team trade list.

The two-year deal makes sense for the Predators, although it had been looking more and more that the team has a future goaltender in Saros who is likely ready to take the reigns as starting goaltender now. Saros recently filled in as starter when Rinne went down and has six wins, a 2.50 GAA and a .917 save percentage in eight appearances. However, with both under contract for two more years after this one, the team should have one of the best goaltending tandems in the league. The most impressive part is that they will have both goaltenders at a combined $6.5MM for the next two seasons, a significant bargain, considering the kind of money that many goaltenders have been getting recently.

The extension also takes away some of the intrigue of the 2019 goaltending free agent market which would have starred Rinne, Sergei Bobrovsky and Semyon Varlamov, among others. Rinne gets a double bonus today as he gets his extension on his birthday as the goaltender turned 36 today. Coincidentally, Rinne also signed his last seven-year deal with Nashville on his birthday seven years ago today.

New Jersey Places Noesen On Injured Reserve; Activates Stafford

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The New Jersey Devils announced that they have placed forward Stefan Noesen on injured reserve, with an upper-body injury which he suffered in a game Tuesday against Tampa Bay. The team also announced that they have activated forward Drew Stafford to take Noesen’s place on the team’s 23-man roster.

Noesen was a key player in the team’s surprise run into the playoffs after he put up a career high in goals and assists, with 13 goals and 14 assists on the season. He played a great role, moving from line to line last year offering the team positive possession numbers. However, he hasn’t had as much success so far this year with just a goal and an assist, numbers that he put up in the first two games of the season. He has since posted zero points in his last seven appearances and was scratched on Thursday. The 25-year-old will miss at least two games and could be eligible to return on Tuesday at Ottawa.

Stafford is expected to be in today’s lineup, but has just appeared in two games for the Devils this season. The 33-year-old had eight goals and 15 points last season for New Jersey. He was out with an upper body injury and placed on injured reserve on Oct. 23. He has averaged just 9:06 in ATOI so far in the two games he’s played.

Columbus Blue Jackets Demote Milano To Make Room For Dubinsky

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The Columbus Blue Jackets needed a roster spot to activate veteran forward Brandon Dubinsky from injured reserve, according to Columbus Post-Dispatch’s Brian Hedger. However, the team surprised a few by opting to send winger Sonny Milano, who is not waiver-eligible, to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.

It is a surprise for a few since Milano posted 14 goals last year and many thought that the 22-year-old was ready to take that next step up in his game and even develop into a top-six left wing for the franchise in the future. However, it hasn’t been a good year for Milano so far, who has appeared in just eight games for the Blue Jackets with just one goal and four healthy scratches. Milano averaged 11:39 of ATOI last season, but found his playing time dwindle to just 8:19 this season.

While there may have been better options, it’s the easiest decision for the team who otherwise would have had to place a player on waivers, which they obviously preferred not to do. The team hopes that Milano can find his scoring prowess as well as work on his defensive game while in Cleveland, hoping that the demotion sparks his play.

The team does get a big boost in the return of Dubinsky. The veteran has only played in the first two games of the season before straining an oblique muscle during practice and has since missed 10 games. The 32-year-old veteran had a career-low 16 points in 62 games last season and many believed he desperately needed a bounce-back season. While it’s too early to tell, Dubinsky looked good in the first two games of the season, putting up a goal and an assist, while receiving 14:27 of ATOI in those two games. Dubinsky still has three years remaining on his deal, paying him $5.85MM AAV.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Kevin Czuczman On Waivers

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Monday: Czuczman has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the AHL should the Penguins decide to do so.

Sunday: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Kevin Czuczman on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. He suffered a shoulder injury during training camp and was placed on season-opening injured reserve.

The 27-year-old, who is expected to be out until December, had to go through the formality of waivers at some point and with the defenseman’s continued progression through his shoulder injury, it makes sense to do it now. He has already been with the AHL team throughout the early part of the season of his recovery.

Czuczman spent all of last year with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL, finishing with four goals and 35 points in 71 games. Entering his fifth season in the AHL, he will be brought back slowly and eventually placed on one of WBS’s top defensive lines after he is fully healthy. Czuczman chose to re-sign with a one-year, $650K contract with Pittsburgh just before free agency opened this summer.

Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Ferland, Boyd, Mayfield

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Ever since the injury to defenseman Justin Schultz, there have been rumors that the Pittsburgh Penguins may have to upgrade their defense if they wanted to make a serious run for a Stanley Cup. Regardless, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford stated that the team has enough depth to fill the hole in their defense from within.

Yet rumors continued, especially after defenseman Jack Johnson was found to be on the ice for five goals against in their 6-5 overtime victory Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. Again, fans began clamoring to get help to lessen the role of Johnson, after he signed a questionable five-year, $16.25MM deal in the offseason. However, head coach Mike Sullivan was quick to come to Johnson’s defense, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“The reality is when you break down the involvement of those goals, he had no responsibility for any of those goals-against,” Sullivan said of Johnson’s performance against the Oilers. “He just happened to be on the ice for them. We try to look at the game a whole lot closer than the fact that guy is on the ice when a goal is scored because a lot can happen in a team game.”

Rutherford furthered that notion by reiterating that the team intends to stand pat with regards to adding more defense.

“I certainly don’t see us having to go get another defenseman with the group of guys we have,” Rutherford said. “We have guys in Wilkes-Barre who can come in and play on top of who we have here.”

  • While the Carolina Hurricanes made a number of moves this offseason, the team may be most happy with the play of Micheal Ferland, who came over in the trade with the Calgary Flames during the offseason. While the team’s main reason to bringing Ferland in was to add some toughness to a team that lacked it a year ago, the team seems to be getting quite a bit more than that out of him, according to Chip Alexander of the News & Observer. Ferland has found a place on the team’s top line with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, and has a team-high six goals, along with 10 points. If Ferland keeps that up, he could break his career-high of 21 goals this season.
  • NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti writes Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden said that Travis Boyd will have some tests tomorrow to determine the progress of his injury when he sustained a lower-body injury during training camp and was placed on LTIR. Because he was placed on LTIR, he was forced to miss 10 games, meaning he can be activated now if he’s healthy. “We’ll have him checked out again tomorrow and then see how close he is to being able to play as soon as Thursday,” Reirden said (via NBC Sports J.J. Regan). “But we still need to get some tests done and see exactly where he’s at. He’s been coming along and for the most part seems to be fairly pain-free.” Boyd made eight appearances with the Capitals last year and was battling with Nic Dowd for the fourth-line center position, but lost that job after getting injured.
  • New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said that perhaps the biggest surprise on the roster has been the play of defenseman Scott Mayfield, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 26-year-old has a goal and five points in seven games this season, but has really impressed the coach with his play even though Trotz admitted that he got off to a slow start at training camp.

Pacific Notes: Karlsson, Carlyle, Vilardi, Pacioretty

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San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer broke up the defensive pairing of Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the third period of Tuesday’s game. He then changed up all the defensive lines Friday and Karlsson once again was not playing next to Vlasic. It might seem that the merger of two defensive stars might be done, yet The Mercury News’ Paul Gackle writes that this is nothing more than a bump in the road for the Sharks and their elite pairing.

Gackle writes that DeBoer is well known for shaking up lines, either on offense or defense if the team is struggling, and this is no different. The belief is that for Karlsson to be the offensive force that the Sharks need, they need Vlasic to take a more defensive approach to his game and play more like Marc Methot, the defensive defenseman who was paired with Karlsson for many years in Ottawa.

With just a few weeks of the season underway, DeBoer is well aware that Karlsson needs time to adjust as will Vlasic who they still believe is the perfect complement to Karlsson.

  • Josh Cooper of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Anaheim Ducks shouldn’t put too much blame on head coach Randy Carlyle, who has had a successful stint in his second tenure as head coach. However, while Carlyle has done quite a bit with certain key players such as Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell and Cam Fowler in the last few years, if the team cannot rebound from this, there could be a coaching change in store at some point this season, although the scribe believes that Carlyle will be given every opportunity to right the ship.
  • Fox Sports Jon Rosen writes that the Los Angeles Kings got some good news on the injury front as the team is starting to integrate prospect Gabriel Vilardi into practice last week and although he’s wearing a non-contact sweater, it’s a positive step for the 19-year-old, who missed both training camp and the start of the season with back problems. The team’s 2017 first-round pick struggled through back problems last year at this time and missed the first half of the season before finally being returned to juniors to finish out his season. He contributed 22 goals and 56 points in just 32 games with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. With the Kings in desperate need of offense this year, the team hopes that Vilardi can make a seamless transition to the NHL and contribute at some point soon.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have declared winger Max Pacioretty out for Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Pacioretty, who took a big hit to the head during Friday’s game against Tampa Bay, is listed as day-to-day still. Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that he asked Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant whether the 29-year-old was in concussion protocol. Gallant’s response: “He’s got an upper-body injury.” Tomas Hyka will be in the lineup in place of Pacioretty. He has no points in five games.

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