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Eastern Notes: Hoffman, Claesson, Duclair, Trotz, Burakovsky

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The Ottawa Senators may be struggling in the standings, but that didn’t stop the team from holding their annual skills competition at the Canadian Tire Center with forward Mike Hoffman and defenseman Fredrik Claesson each winning the key awards of the afternoon, according to Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch.

Hoffman captured the speed award with a time of 13.944 seconds, just short of his time a year ago (13.836) when he won the same event. Ryan Dzingel finished second in the competition at 14.016 and Thomas Chabot placing third at 14.229.

“I always did power skating as a kid and played inline hockey growing up, which can help on your skating as well,” Hoffman added.

Claesson won the hardest shot competition at 104.6 mph in the preliminary rounds and then beat fellow defenseman Johnny Oduya in the finals with a 103.7 shot. Oduya had a 98.0 mph shot.

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post recommends that in the wake of the Chris Kreider injury and the fact he could be out for two months, the New York Rangers should look into the price of acquiring Arizona Coyotes forward Anthony Duclair, a perfect buy-low candidate. With few options in the AHL, a cheap player with NHL experience might be perfect for New York.
  • Pointing out a suggested trade for Duclair as well, Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith also likes the idea of the Tampa Bay Lightning kicking the tires on acquiring the 22-year-old winger. Smith writes he would be a perfect low-risk, high reward option as a top-nine player for a team to fill out its depth. However, the scribe does add the team might want to focus more on defensive depth first, such as Ottawa’s Codi Ceci.
  • With the Washington Capitals victory Saturday, head coach Barry Trotz recorded his 737th victory, making him the fifth winningest coach in NHL history. Trotz, who is in his 19th year as a head coach, has 180 victories with the Capitals. He had spent the previous 15 years in Nashville.
  • Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports writes that young winger Andre Burakovsky, who many felt might have a breakout year, will have a hard time getting back into the Capitals’ lineup as he is one of four players fighting for time on the fourth line. He missed time this year after undergoing thumb surgery and has struggled since his return. “There’s some things that I feel like I’m not really back to after my injury,” said Burakovsky via the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. “I guess it’s been taking a little bit longer time than I was expecting.”

2017 Year In Review: November

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2017 has been quite a busy year in the hockey world. There have been several big trades, the first expansion team in over 15 years, and much more. Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. Next up is a look at the month of November.

Duchene Trade: After months and months of rumors about the destination of Colorado Avalanche’s disgruntled center Matt Duchene and a highly publicized failed trade between the Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators, a three-way trade with those three teams was finally completed one day later. Ottawa picked up Duchene, while Nashville acquired veteran center Kyle Turris. Colorado picked up a large haul of prospects and picks, adding defenseman Samuel Girard, winger Vladislav Kamenev, 2016 first-rounder Shane Bowers, goaltender Andrew Hammond, Ottawa’s 2018 first-round pick (top 10-protected), Nashville’s 2018 second-round pick and Ottawa’s 2019 third-round pick. If Ottawa finishes among the bottom 10 teams this year (which suddenly seems likely), Ottawa will give Colorado a 2019 first-rounder. While the deal seems to have vaulted Nashville to the top of the Central Division after the trade, the Senators have gone in the opposite direction as they stand in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. Turris has five goals and 13 assists in 23 games since arriving in Nashville, but Duchene has struggled. He has just three goals and three assists in 23 games for the Senators.

Prospects Returned To Junior Teams: With many teams evaluating the play of some of their top draft picks as NHL teams can observe their young players for 10 games before they burn a players’ first year of their entry-level contract, many players found themselves heading back to their junior teams in November. The Edmonton Oilers were the first to send 2017 first-rounder Kailer Yamamoto back to the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. He had three assists in nine games with the Oilers. Other teams followed suit as Florida sent 2017 first-rounder Owen Tippett back to Mississauga Steelheads after putting up just one goal in seven games for the Panthers. Other players were also sent back including the New Jersey Devils’ Michael McLeod and Los Angeles Kings’ Gabe Vilardi.

Vegas Goaltending Woes Continue: The Vegas Golden Knights surprising on-ice success hit some roadblocks when they lost their starting two goaltenders in Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban. The team instead turned to AHL goaltender Oskar Dansk, who was injured as well, forcing the team to go with Maxime Lagace as their starting goaltender. Even he went down and the Golden Knights were forced to recall 2017 seventh-rounder Dylan Ferguson from his junior team on an emergency basis to play some minutes for the Golden Knights. Little by little, the Vegas netminders began to heal with the eventual return of Subban and Fleury. Only Dansk remains on injured reserve. Despite those woes, the Golden Knights rarely faltered.

Extensions Signed: The Columbus Blue Jackets signed winger Cam Atkinson to a seven-year, $41.125MM ($5.9MM AAV) extension, a big signing for a player who was headed for unrestricted free agency this summer. Atkinson had scored 105 goals in the previous four seasons before this one. Ironically, Atkinson has struggled this year as he’s put up just six goals and has been benched for a game by head coach John Tortorella. The extension makes him the third highest-paid player on Columbus’ roster behind only goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and forward Artemi Panarin. The Golden Knights also got into the act, locking up defenseman Brayden McNabb to a four-year, $10MM extension. That gives Vegas a physical presence on the blueline for years.

Devils-Ducks Swap: The Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils completed a trade as the Ducks sent defenseman Sami Vatanen to the Devils in exchange for center Adam Henrique, Joseph Blandisi and a 2018 conditional third-round pick. The deal is one of those equal moves as the Devils needed help on the blueline, while having an excess of forwards with the impending return of Travis Zajac. Anaheim had excess defense, while desperately needing center help as they had to deal with injuries to Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf. Henrique started strong, but still has eight points in 14 games for Anaheim. Vatanen has a goal and three assists in 14 games for New Jersey.

 

 

 

Calgary Places Frolik On IR, Recalls Mangiapane

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1:35: Postmedia’s Kristen Odlund tweets that the prognosis for Frolik is he will be out four to six weeks.

12:29: The Calgary Flames already knew it was coming when winger Michael Frolik suffered a fractured jaw while trying to block a shot by San Jose’s Brent Burns in Thursday’s game. However, Sportsnet’s John Shannon tweets the team finally placed the 29-year-old on injured reserve today after he underwent surgery Saturday night to repair his broken jaw.

While no timetable has been discussed, Frolik is expected to miss multiple weeks as he recovers from the surgery. His offense had been down a bit this season as he has just seven goals and eight assists through 37 games, but has been playing on the team’s second line most of the season. He had 17 goals and 44 points last season.

The team did recall their AHL’s top scorer as the team promoted Andrew Mangiapane Sunday to replace Frolik. A former sixth-round pick in 2015, the 21-year-old has thrived in the AHL in two seasons, and currently leads the Stockton Heat with 14 goals and 19 assists, which is on pace for a bigger season than his 20-goal output with Stockton last year. Mangiapane is expected to be inserted into the Flames lineup immediately and is expected to play on the team’s fourth line in tonight’s matchup against Chicago.

Injury Notes: Couture, Hjalmarsson, Callahan, Compher, Kadri

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The San Jose Sharks look like they will be getting one of their top scorers back soon, possibly even tonight, as head coach Peter DeBoer stated center Logan Couture is a game-time decision, according to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. In fact, since Couture has been practicing on the team’s power play, Kurz believes that he is probable to play against Dallas tonight.

Couture was reportedly working out in practice yesterday without wearing an orange non-contact jersey, suggesting he could be close to returning. The 28-year-old has missed the past four games with a concussion. He leads the team with 15 goals and is tied for the team lead in points with Joe Thornton with 26. The team, however, has fared well without him as they have won three of those four games Couture has missed.

  • Dave Vest of NHL.com writes that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, who has been out with an upper-body injury for more than a month, could be returning to action soon. He practiced with the team Saturday. “He’s actually feeling better,” head coach Rick Tocchet said. “I don’t have an exact time frame, but he’s had some really good days the past couple days.”
  • Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Tampa Bay Lightning winger Ryan Callahan was participating in practice with the penalty killing unit today. Smith adds that he believes Callahan will be ready sooner than one week. Callahan has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old has just one goal and five assists this year, but is the team’s top penalty killer.
  • BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that Colorado Avalanche forward J.T. Compher will be out the rest of the week with an upper-body injury and with a week-long bye after that, it’s likely the team won’t see the 22-year-old until Jan. 13. He was injured in Friday’s game against the Islanders. Compher has seven goals and six assists in 31 games this season.
  • Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reports that Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri will miss his second-straight game today against Vegas with an upper-body injury he suffered Thursday against Arizona. The 27-year-old has 13 goals so far this season in 38 games.

 

Arizona Places Emerson Etem On Unconditional Waivers

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The Arizona Coyotes have placed winger Emerson Etem on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract, according to Elliotte Friedman. The 25-year-old was signed by the Coyotes this summer, but did not make the team out of training camp and was placed on waivers back on Sept. 27. He was recalled for one game this season on Oct. 11, but was a healthy scratch and was sent back down two days later. He played 16 games for the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL and has had four goals and an assist.

A former first-round pick back in 2010, Etem has struggled, especially recently. He has played 173 games, but has never played what constitutes a full NHL season to date. The most NHL games he’s played in a season was back in the 2015-16 season when he played 19 games for the New York Rangers and then traded at midseason to the Vancouver Canucks, where he played another 39 games. He combined for seven goals and 15 points that year, his best in the NHL. Vancouver had hoped he would become a regular from that point on, but Etem failed to earn a spot in their lineup the following season and was placed on waivers. He was picked up by Anaheim last year, but only saw three NHL games.

Friedman also says that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Eric Gryba, who was placed on waivers Saturday, cleared. He will likely be assigned to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL unless the team finds a trade partner.

Minor Transactions: 12/31/17

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The last day of 2017 is upon us and 16 teams are expected to play today after a six-game schedule on Saturday. Many teams may want to shake up their roster, so keep an eye out for moves today:

  • The Ottawa Senators announced they have reassigned forward Nick Paul to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. Paul has been with Ottawa since he was recalled on Dec. 13, but has been shuttled back and forth between the two squads for much of the season. The 22-year-old has played 11 games for Ottawa and has one goal, which he picked up Friday against Columbus. He has one goal and six assists in 17 games for Belleville.
  • One day after recalling center Frederick Gaudreau, the Nashville Predators have returned him to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, according to Cap Friendly. Gaudreau played in the team’s 3-0 victory over Minnesota, but only saw 6:21 minutes of ice time in the game. He has played 18 games with Nashville with three assists on the year.

New Jersey Trades Dalton Prout to Calgary

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The New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames have completed a trade as the Devils have sent defenseman Dalton Prout to Calgary for goaltender Eddie Lack, according to the New Jersey Devils.

Prout, who cleared waivers on Friday, will report to Stockton of the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman. The Devils had been carrying nine defenseman and had to move on from the 27-year-old, who had only played four games for the team this year.

“Dalton is a guy we’re familiar with,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving said via Postmedia’s Kristen Odlund. “He hasn’t played a whole lot lately. He’s spent his career in Columbus and was traded to Jersey at the deadline last year. With him getting through waivers that allows him to get up to Stockton and get going.”

Lack will be assigned to the Binghampton Devils. He struggled with Calgary after being acquired in the offseason from the Carolina in limited time as the team’s backup to Mike Smith. He had a 5.29 GAA and a .813 save percentage in five appearances before being placed on waivers on Nov. 23. He cleared waivers the following day and was assigned to Stockton, while youngster David Rittich replaced him in Calgary and played well. The 29-year-old Lack did show some improvement in Stockton as he had a 2.57 GAA and a .916 save percentage with the AHL team.

Prout’s deal has a $1.58MM cap hit, while Lack has a $1.38MM cap hit, which will force Calgary to eat $200K, according to Ryan Pike of FlamesNation.ca. One major reason why Calgary moved on from Lack was because the Flames wanted to promote 2016 second-rounder Tyler Parsons to the AHL from the ECHL. The prospect goaltender had a 3.08 and a .907 save percentage in 11 games this year.

“This gave us an opportunity to give Eddie an opportunity elsewhere. David (Rittich) has played well,” Treliving said via Odlund. “Jon Gillies is playing well in Stockton. This will open up a spot for Tyler Parsons (at the #AHL level).”

Tampa Bay Places Budaj On IR, Recalls Domingue

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without their backup goalie for a little while as the team placed Peter Budaj on injured reserve Saturday, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. The veteran goaltender started Friday and played well, stopping 29 of 33 shots, but needed to be helped off the ice after sustaining an apparent leg injury and was replaced by starter Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Despite playing well Friday behind a struggling defense, the 35-year-old Budaj’s overall numbers have been disappointing. In seven appearances, he has a 3.80 GAA and a .878 save percentage. No one is quite sure how long Budaj will be out, but the veteran was reportedly already walking on his own after the game Friday, according to Smith. He will have to miss the team’s next three games, but could be back on the roster for the Jan. 6 game against the Ottawa Senators.

Louis Domingue has been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL to replace him.  Domingue started the year as the backup in Arizona, but struggled with a 4.33 GAA and a .856 save percentage in seven appearances and then was swapped to Tampa Bay for goaltender Michael Leighton and journeyman Tye McGinn. The 25-year-old was sent to Syracuse in hopes of finding his game, which he did. He has a 2.39 GAA in 13 games for the Crunch with a .911 save percentage.

Nashville Places Filip Forsberg On Injured Reserve

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4:41pm: Vingan reports that it is an upper-body injury and there is no timetable for his return.

4:31pm: The Nashville Predators have taken a huge blow as star forward Filip Forsberg was placed on injured reserve today after sustaining an unknown injury in Friday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, according to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean. The winger left the game with 8:40 remaining in the third period.

“He left with a problem,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said Friday. “We’ll have an update Saturday (probably).”

No update has come across yet. While the impact of the injury is unknown, the loss of Forsberg for any time will be felt. He leads the team in goals scored (15), assists (19) and points (34). Forsberg has been one of the healthiest players in the NHL as he hasn’t missed a game since before the 2014-15 season. He last missed on April 13, 2014 and was one of nine NHL players to have played in every NHL since the 2014-15 season.

The team already made a corresponding move when they recalled forward Frederick Gaudreau from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL earlier today. Gaudreau has already played 17 games for Nashville this year and has three assists.

Assuming he would be eligible to return within a week and the move is retroactive to Friday, the team would only lose Forsberg for two games, including tonight’s back end of the home-and-home with Minnesota and another game Thursday at Arizona.

Alexander Burmistrov Retires From NHL, Signs In Russia

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Wednesday: Burmistrov has signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL, where he will continue his playing career.

Sunday: NHL player agent Dan Milstein announced that Vancouver Canucks center Alexander Burmistrov has announced his retirement. Burmistrov had recently talked about his frustration with his role with the Canucks. He was a healthy scratch last night against the Blues and only had 4:53 minutes of ice time Thursday against San Jose.

“The frustrating thing is you know you can play at this level and every day and every night you walk into the dressing room and you don’t know if you’re playing or not. You kind of want to know you’re playing or be sure to be confident in yourself and feel like you’re part of the team,” Burmistrov said. “Then you walk into the dressing room and you’re not playing and you’re thinking: ‘What is it going to be like tomorrow?’ I’m trying to work hard but this is hard.”

Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Burmistrov wanted to return back home. Milstein told Dhaliwal, “He wanted to go back home. No other reason. The Canucks were more than accommodating to his request.”

The 26-year-old signed a one-year deal with Vancouver in July after splitting  last year between the Winnipeg Jets and the Arizona Coyotes. He had spent five years with the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers organization after being the eighth-overall pick in 2010, but was waived in January by Winnipeg and Arizona claimed him. Burmistrov never lived up to the billing as his best year in the league was back in 2011-12 when he scored 13 goals and 15 assists in 76 games in the Winnipeg Jets’ first year after moving from Atlanta.

He played a total of 348 games, scoring 37 goals and 101 points. He had two goals and four assists in 24 games this season.

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