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Sixteen Players Placed On Waivers

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With the rosters coming into shape, some bigger names are starting to make their way to the waiver wire, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Today, 16 players were placed on waivers. After everyone cleared from Saturday’s list, will someone get claimed from today’s group?

F Pontus Aberg (Edmonton)
F Kenny Agostino (Montreal)
F Michael Chaput (Montreal)
F Adam Cracknell (Toronto)
F Josh Jooris (Toronto)
D Brett Kulak (Calgary)
F Curtis Lazar (Calgary)
D Vincent LoVerde (Toronto)
D Kurtis MacDermid (Los Angeles)
D Dylan McIlrath (Detroit)
G Mike McKenna (Ottawa)
F Chris Mueller (Toronto)
F Anthony Peluso (Calgary)
F Matt Puempel (Detroit)
D Jordan Subban (Toronto)
D Luke Witkowski (Detroit)

Kulak could be one of the more interesting players who could get claimed as the 24-year-old defenseman played 71 games for the Flames last season and has proven to be a solid third-line pairing defenseman for a team that might need some depth at that position. He was made expendable with the emergency of rookies Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki in Calgary.

Aberg was also an interesting player, who never gained any trust with management in Edmonton after the Oilers acquired him from Nashville at the trade deadline. One big problem for the scoring winger is that he doesn’t really play on any special teams positions, which keeps him from being a quality role player.

The 23-year-old Lazar is another interesting option if a team needs a depth winger. Unfortunately for the Flames, they never saw significant progression after the team traded a second-round pick (which turned out to be Alex Formenton) for Lazar, who only produced two goals and 12 points in 65 games last season. With their forward depth evident in training camp this year with players like Dillon Dube and Andrew Mangiapane playing well, Lazar was expendable.

Western Notes: Crawford, Saad, Vilardi, Andrighetto

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The Chicago Blackhawks got more good news today as The Athletic Scott Powers reports that head coach Joel Quenneville said that goaltender Corey Crawford could practice with the team as early as Monday.

Crawford who has been out since Dec. 23 of last year with concussion symptoms said earlier this offseason that he likely wouldn’t be ready when the regular season begins as the symptoms have still affected him. That has been the case, but if Crawford is close to returning to practice, that could be a good boost for the team, knowing that he’s not far off to returning to game action, even if its a few weeks into the season.

The 33-year-old Crawford was having a solid season before going down as he posted a 2.27 GAA and a .929 save percentage in 28 games. If he can come back and post anything close to that, the Blackhawks may be able to work their way back into playoff discussions this year.

  • In a separate story, Powers (subscription required) interviewed three NHL scouts about individual players on the Chicago Blackhawks and while there are many interesting comments about different players, two scouts had nothing nice to say about Chicago winger Brandon Saad. “When he’s not playing with top guys, he doesn’t respect who he’s playing and he’s selfish,” a scout said. “He’ll try to carry it himself instead of moving the puck. When he gets frustrated, he shows it with his body language. They have to recognize that and have a talk with him. Whether they put him with one of the big guys, he’s got to have a better attitude.” A second scout was equally unimpressed. “I think Saad is a guy who plays for a contract. I’m not convinced that he’s a guy who plays for you every night.”
  • Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that Los Angeles Kings prospect center Gabriel Vilardi, who has missed the entire preseason after re-injuring his back this summer, was in full gear working out on the ice with head trainer Chris Kingsley. There is no timetable on his return. Rosen added that Vilardi will either start the season on IR or as an injured non-roster player. The 19-year-old still has one year of junior eligibility, but posted 52 points in just 32 games last year with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and many feel could be ready to take on a key role with Los Angeles if he can put his back issues behind him.
  • Adrian Dater of BSN Denver writes that winger Sven Andrighetto will miss two to four weeks with a foot injury. The 25-year-old is trying to force his way into the team’s top-six . He tallied eight goals and 22 points last year in a bottom-six role for the Avalanche.

Eastern Notes: Tkachuk, Formenton, Nylander, Carrick, Bobrovsky, Knight

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The Ottawa Senators were always planning on bringing in a group of young talent to join their NHL team this year and when Senators’ head coach Guy Boucher said that his forwards were set to start the year, Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas tweets that means that forwards Brady Tkachuk and Alex Formenton made the team.

While neither player’s appearance on the roster is much of a surprise, the team has been impressed with Tkachuk’s offensive and physical play as well as the impressive speed that Formenton adds. Tkachuk, the team’s fourth-overall pick in the 2018 draft, and Formenton, a second-round pick in the 2017 draft, both are expected to take on significant roles for a team that many feel could finish at the bottom of the league this season. Formenton made the team out of training camp last year, but appeared in just one game before being returned to his junior team.

  • The Hurricanes were among the teams to inquire regarding the availability of Maple Leafs winger William Nylander, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported in an appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link).  However, Toronto GM Kyle Dubas informed them (and other seekers) that they have no intention of dealing the restricted free agent.  LeBrun also suggested that an offer sheet for the 22-year-old is quite unlikely given Toronto’s cap space for 2018-19 and the fact that a lot of the teams that could afford him and have the requisite picks to surrender are far from postseason locks; they probably won’t want to risk potentially losing a lottery pick.
  • The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel reports that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said that he will know his roster by tonight, with final cuts coming tomorrow. One person who has an uncertain future with Toronto is defenseman Connor Carrick, who according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton, is facing an uphill battle to making the team. When asked if he’s spoken to Babcock, Carrick’s responded: “We haven’t talked much. I’m not sure there’s a ton to talk about.”
  • Brian Hedger of NHL.com asked Columbus Blue Jackets’ goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who could be a potential unrestricted free agent next season, whether it is easy to keep the business and hockey sides separate. His answer: “Yeah, well, we’ll see. I’m a human too. I’ve developed some skills, some mental skills, some technical skills, so I’m a human … it is what it is.” The 29-year-old Bobrovsky is believed to be asking for a contract equal or surpassing the eight-year, $84MM deal that Montreal handed to Carey Price last offseason. Negotiations haven’t gotten very far.
  • Despite an impressive preseason, veteran AHL’er Corban Knight will not make the Philadelphia Flyers’ opening day roster after all after the team announced that Knight will miss the next three weeks with an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old forward has played in 291 AHL contests over his career, compared to just 29 NHL games and was one of the last players fighting for a roster spot before being injured.

2018-19 Season Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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With the NHL season now less than a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Detroit Red Wings.

Last Season: 30-39-13 record (73 points), fifth in the Atlantic Division (missed the playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $0 per CapFriendly

Key Additions: G Jonathan Bernier (free agent, Colorado), D Jake Chelios (free agent, Carolina), F Wade Megan (free agent, St. Louis), G Harri Sateri (free agent, Florida), F Chris Terry (free agent, Montreal), F Thomas Vanek (free agent, Columbus).

Key Subtractions: G Jared Coreau (free agent, Anaheim), F Matthew Lorito (free agent, New York Islanders), G Thomas McCollum (free agent, Milwaukee, AHL), D Xavier Ouellet (free agent, Montreal), D Dan Renouf (free agent, Carolina), D Robbie Russo (trade, Arizona), F Ben Street (free agent, Anaheim), Eric Tangradi (free agent, New Jersey).

[Related: Red Wings Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: F Dylan Larkin — The Red Wings finally have the star player they have been looking for after the 22-year-old posted a career-high 63 points last season and could be poised to take that next step this year after signing a five year, $30.5MM contract over the summer. A couple things that could fall in his favor are the fact that Larkin had a low shooting percentage last season, which should improve, while he also saw little power play time, which will obviously change this season.

The best case scenario for Larkin would be to take his game up another notch and perhaps reach the point-per-game plateau, which he is more than capable of. A worst-case scenario might see him struggle to stand out amongst a stable of improving, but hardly amazing crop of forwards. The team can only hope that Larkin can prove he was worth the contract he received and can help lead Detroit move up in the standings. His elite speed makes him one of the best to enter the offensive zone with the puck on his stick, but he must prove that he can put the puck away as well.

Key Storyline: The youth movement is truly beginning this year as several young players look to have legitimate chances to make the roster, including 2017 first-rounder Michael Rasmussen and 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina. While there has been no guarantee they will make the NHL roster, both have shown their offensive talents off and even if Zadina gets sent down, the 18-year-old can play in the AHL instead. Regardless, a team that was (and still is) an older, veteran team is starting to change its look.

The team is also expected to make some changes on the defensive end of the ice as several young defensemen are challenging for an NHL roster spot, including Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts, Dennis Cholowski and Libor Sulak. The goal is the team should slowly build its way to a young, rebuilt roster.

Overall Outlook: The Red Wings are in a tough transition phase that should keep them near the bottom of the NHL for another season and perhaps give them a shot at consensus No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes next season. With so many aging players that are clogging up their cap, the best fans of the franchise can do is hope that their young players develop as fast as they can to give the team a hope for the future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 9/29/18

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Even with waivers and training camp cuts, teams continue to make minor transactions as they need to recall players for their final preseason games.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have recalled defenseman Philippe Myers from Lehigh Valley of the AHL to play in their preseason game today against the Boston Bruins. The 6-foot-5, 202-pound blueliner was a top candidate to make the team out of training camp, but was sent down recently. The 21-year-old played his first AHL season last year, posting 21 points in 50 games.
  • The St. Louis Blues announced they have recalled seven players from the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL for their game Sunday against the Washington Capitals, including forwards Brian Flynn, Klim Kostin, MacKenzie MacEachern and Adam Musil, as well as defensemen Chris Butler, Mitch Reinke and Tyler Wotherspoon. The Blues are looking to fill that game’s roster with a bunch of minor leaguers to get them experience as well as give some of the veterans some rest before the season starts. Besides Butler, who has spent parts of four seasons with the Blues, Klostin may be the most well-known as the 2017 first-rounder posted 28 points in the AHL last year as an 18-year-old.
  • The Dallas Stars have recalled goaltender Colton Point for their preseason finale against Colorado, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. He is expected to play the entire game Sunday after both Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin both missed practice today due to mild muscle strains. Point came over from Colgate University last year after posting a 1.79 GAA and a .944 save percentage there. He’s also fared well in limited time in the preseason, where he’s allowed just three goals on 33 shots in 32:29 minutes of ice time.

Fifteen Players Placed On Waivers

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Another busy day on the waiver wire as 15 players were placed on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). No players was claimed from yesterday’s group of 16 players, but with the regular season fast approaching, teams are continuing to make big decisions.

F Justin Bailey (Buffalo)
F Nicholas Baptiste (Buffalo)
F Riley Barber (Washington)
D Matt Bartkowski (Minnesota)
F Patrick Brown (Carolina)
F Erik Condra (Dallas)
G Andrew Hammond (Minnesota)
F Mike Liambas (Minnesota)
D Evan McEneny (Vancouver)
F Greg McKegg (Carolina)
F Michael Mersch (Dallas)
F Liam O’Brien (Washington)
F Kyle Rau (Minnesota)
F Matt Read (Minnesota)
F Anton Rodin (Anaheim) — placed on unconditional waivers (per Lavoie)
D Matt Tennyson (Buffalo)

There are a few interesting names, including the “Hamburglar,” who lost his bid to unseat goaltender Alex Stalock as the backup goaltender in Minnesota. Hammond hasn’t been a full-time backup since the 2015-16 season, but has shown flashes of brilliance when he’s hot, including getting into three playoff appearances for Colorado last year. One of those games, Game 5, Hammond stopped 44 of 45 shots in leading the Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. However, he wasn’t able to keep that success going as he yielded five goals the following game as Colorado was eliminated.

The 23-year-old Bailey is another interesting player who has worked his way up level-by-level and was on the border of a regular spot. Bailey has had three stints in the NHL now and last year’s was one of the more successful ones has he tallied three goals and four points in 12 games. Baptiste is another 23-year-old in Buffalo, who got an even longer look with the Sabres, 33 games, but only managed four goals in that time.

Read is another player with tons of experience. The 32-year-old had played quite a bit in the NHL before struggling to get playing time in Philadelphia, while the 25-year-old Rau posted 23 goals in Iowa last season in the AHL.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi Will Start Season With Montreal Canadiens

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While surprise probably isn’t the correct word, the Montreal Canadiens announced that head coach Claude Julien confirmed that 18-year-old prospect Jesperi Kotkaniemi will start the season in Montreal. No word on where he might play or even what position he might play out of the gate.

“We decided that he’ll start the season here in Montreal. It’s good news for him, and it’s good news for us,” said Julien.

The 2018 third-overall pick has been debated for weeks now about whether or not he should remain with the team. While the team is desperate for help down the middle, Kotkaniemi has not played center on a regular basis in over a year as he played left wing this past season with Liiga’s Assat Pori team as a 17-year-old. With the team already having abandoned the Jonathan Drouin experiment at center and only getting a minimal look at Max Domi as their No. 1 center before being suspended for the remainder of the preseason, the team may be hoping that Kotkaniemi can work his way into the role at some point during the season.

Kotkaniemi was already somewhat of a mild surprise when the Canadiens took him with the third overall pick when there were better-known wingers ahead of him, including Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina, but it is believed that the Canadiens fell in love with Kotkaniemi’s potential as a future No. 1 center, which now looks to be immediate. The team is allowed to play him for nine games before they burn the first year of his entry-level contract. The team may want to see how he responds to playing in the regular season before making a final decision on whether to keep him, send him to the AHL’s Laval Rocket or return him to Finland.

One other interesting point made by The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) is that the salary cap specifics could fit perfectly if the team keeps Kotkaniemi this season. He points out that if Kotkaniemi does play more than 10 games this season, then he will sign his second NHL contract in 2021-22 when the Canadiens have freed themselves of some significant cap room, including the contracts of Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry and Phillip Danault (assuming none of them get extended). It’s also significant, because the team has quite a few other prospects that are a year behind Kotkaniemi such as Nick Suzuki, Ryan Poehling as well as a potential high pick in the 2019 NHL draft who could hit a big payday in 2022-23 and might have Montreal thinking ahead to avoid having all three get paid in the same year.

 

Eastern Notes: Green, Murray, Neuvirth, Schneider, Ferland

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The Detroit Red Wings have been without defenseman Mike Green since the Traverse City portion of training camp ended when Green complained of fatigue. However, the worst of it is behind him, according to Red Wings’ general manager Ken Holland, who says that according to a infectious disease specialist, Green is “on the backside” of a viral infection, according to Detroit Free-Press’ Helene St. James.

While there is no firm timetable of a return, the team is preparing for the upcoming regular season without Green’s availability.

“Once he feels better, we’ll gradually start to push him a little bit and if his body doesn’t respond, we’ll back off and wait a few more days,” said Holland. “It’s sort of like concussion protocol – slowly see how a player responds. We have no time frame for when he will rejoin the team.”

The team will likely keep two of their four defensive prospects to open up the season for Detroit in Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Libor Sulak. The Athletic’s Max Bultman (subscription required) handicapped each of the four blueliners chances of making the team.

  • Injuries continue to plague Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray, who has been out since Tuesday after getting kicked in between the legs in their preseason games against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline confirms it’s not a back injury, which has been an issue with him in the past, but a groin problem. He suffered a soft-tissue groin injury and could be out between a couple to a few weeks.
  • It doesn’t look like Philadelphia Flyers backup goaltender Michal Neuvirth will be ready for the regular season opener after injuring his groin on Friday, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. That likely means that the Flyers will start the season with Anthony Stolarz as the team’s backup to Brian Elliott, although Carchidi suggests that 20-year-old phenom Carter Hart is making a strong bid for the opening night roster. “There haven’t been many huge peaks or valleys in his play, and that’s a good place to start when you’re battling for an NHL job,” head coach Dave Hakstol said about the 20-year-old.
  • The Athletic’s Corey Masisak reports that New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider expects to go to Europe with the team for a preseason game in Bern, Switzerland, on Oct. 1. “We’ll see where it goes from there,” Schneider said. The 32-year-old goaltender, who is recovering from hip surgery practiced with the team’s second unit today and stayed on the ice for extra drills with Keith Kinkaid.
  • Michael Smith of NHL.com reports that Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland is dealing with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour said he will hold Ferland out of the lineup for the rest of preseason.

Central Notes: Fabbri, Crawford, Boqvist, Jokiharju, Wild

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St. Louis Blues winger Robby Fabbri may have avoided a scare today when he went down in the first period of today’s preseason game in Columbus with what the team refers to as a lower-body injury. While there is no word on the severity of the injury, the St. Louis Blues tweeted that head coach Mike Yeo reported that the injury is not related to Fabbri’s knee. In fact, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann tweeted that he saw Fabbri walking around after the game as if nothing was wrong.

Optimism had started to grow in St. Louis considering how good Fabbri has looked in training camp and the way he performed in his first preseason game. The 22-year-old showed promise with an 18-goal rookie campaign and had 11 goals in his second season before going down with a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the 2016-17 season. He then re-injured the knee in training camp last year and missed the entire 2017-18 season. After a rigorous rehabilitation of his knee, the team can only hope the injury isn’t too serious.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks got good news as The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) reports that goaltender Corey Crawford may be close to the next step in his recovery from a concussion last season. The scribe writes that Crawford may be ready in the near future to practice with the team after a positive report from goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. “Moving, progressing well, he had a really good day again today, getting closer,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “I think whether they ratcheted up a little bit more in the workload, but definitely in the right direction. Getting closer to hopefully in a practice.” Quenneville avoided questions on when that might happen, however.
  • In the same piece, Powers writes that both Adam Boqvist and Henry Jokiharju are both still in play to making the Blackhawks roster, although Jokiharju is a little ahead of the two. Quenneville said that Boqvist is expected to play in all of their three exhibition games this week to get a better look at them. While it’s possible the team could keep both players, it seems more likely the team will keep just one.
  • Dan Myers of NHL.com writes that the Minnesota Wild have been really impressed by the preseason line of Jordan Greenway, Charlie Coyle and Joel Eriksson Ek. That combination of players, who have center experience, have really found cohesion in training camp. The three are solid defensively, have offensive firepower and also give the team much needed size as Eriksson Ek is the smallest of the three at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Greenway, the least experienced of the group at center, has taken that position over and has fared extremely well. “They just work so hard and they’re all very big and strong guys,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Once they get on you, they’re like a dog on a bone.”

Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Drouin, Bruins, Outdoor Game, Lightning

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have been without winger Tyler Johnson for the last week after suffering an upper-body injury in practice. While the 28-year-old is listed as day-to-day, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns writes that Tampa Bay general manager Julien BriseBois recently hinted that Johnson could miss more time than originally expected, including possibly missing the season opener.

“We’re optimistic that he’ll be ready for the season opener but there are no guarantees,” Brisbois said. “In any event, we don’t expect this to be something that will be long term.”

Johnson is a key player on the Lightning’s top-six as he is coming off a 21-goal, 50-point season and the team needs him on the ice if it wants to make another Stanley Cup run this season.

  • Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that Montreal Canadiens Jonathan Drouin, who spent his entire summer working on his skills at the center position was a little surprised when they moved him back to wing on the first day of training camp. “I worked on centre stuff all summer, so I was a bit surprised,” Drouin said. “Starting the season it’s easier to go from centre to wing if you’ve played that. I just need to get my feet wet more a little bit and get back to that elite winger I used to be.” Drouin hopes returning to his original position will give him a chance to develop into the elite winger that Montreal thought they were getting when they traded for him last offseason.
  • The Boston Bruins are still making decisions on who will make their opening day roster, but no matter how you look at it, some very talented youngsters will find themselves on the outside looking in, according to Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports. The scribe writes that some players will have trouble making the roster, including defenseman Matt Grzelcyk as well as Anders Bjork. Grzelcyk played in 61 games, but could find himself in a seventh-man role or worse with the depth on the team’s blueline, while a shoulder injury has hindered the chances of Bjork making the team as Ryan Donato and Danton Heinen seem to have surpassed him on the depth chart. Bjork might get a chance to return for a preseason game or two, but is it too late?
  • NHL.com’s Bryan Burns writes that the Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik believes the team is closing in on the possibility of getting an outdoor game as weather in February may be good enough in Tampa to host a game. However, NHL executive VP Steve Mayer countered (via The Athletic’s Joe Smith) that by saying that while Tampa Bay is one of many teams up for an outdoor game, no decisions have been made yet. An announcement won’t be made until early next year.
  • Two players who were cut by the Tampa Bay Lightning are also going down injured as defenseman Daniel Walcott is expected to be out five to six months with a shoulder injury, while forward Kevin Lynch will miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, according to the Lightning. Both will eventually find their way onto the Lightning’s AHL squad once they have healed.

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