Detroit Sends Sproul To Rangers For Puempel
The Detroit Red Wings have completed a second trade in as many minutes as the team has traded defenseman Ryan Sproul to the New York Rangers for wing Matt Puempel, tweets CapFriendly.
The move comes minutes after the Red Wings traded center Riley Sheahan and a 2018 fifth-round pick to Pittsburgh for winger Scott Wilson and a 2018 third-round pick. The Red Wings are likely ensuring they have a backup center in their system in Puempel after trading away Sheahan.
Sproul has spent the entire 2017-18 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, putting up one goal and three assists in five games. He was not able to make the NHL roster and was sent down. The 24-year-old former second round pick in 2011, is an offensive defenseman, but has had trouble breaking into the Red Wings lineup. He played 27 games with Detroit last year, putting up seven points, but has spent most of his career in Grand Rapids.
Puempel, also has spent the entire year in the AHL. He has scored one goal and three assists for the Hartford Wolfpack. The 24-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators last November after scoring no points in 13 games for Ottawa. However, in 27 games for the Rangers, he put up six goals and three assists and didn’t spend any time in the AHL last year.
Both Sproul and Puempel have already been sent to their new respective AHL teams as Sproul has been assigned to Hartford, while Puempel will join Grand Rapids.
Detroit Trades Sheahan To Pittsburgh
The Detroit Red Wings completed a trade that will send center Riley Sheahan and a 2018 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for wing Scott Wilson and a 2018 third-round pick, according to Cap Friendly. The deal was originally reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
A move was expected after the Red Wings reached an agreement with winger Andreas Athanasiou yesterday. The team needed to make a corresponding roster move to get under the cap before the deal with Athanasiou becomes official and this trade accomplishes that. Sheahan is making $2.075MM this year, and will be a restricted free agent next year. However, by swapping Sheahan for Wilson, who makes just $650K, it will clear enough room for Athanasiou. According to CapFriendly, the trade gives Detroit $1,470,220 in LTIR salary relief.
As for Pittsburgh, the team finally gets its long coveted center it needs for its line. The Penguins, who have been rumored to be looking for a center to fill a hole on their third line, have been mentioned in multiple rumors since the team lost Nick Bonino to Nashville and Matt Cullen to Minnesota in the offseason, including earlier talks with Detroit about Sheahan, but the team finally got their center. In the meantime, the Penguins have been using Greg McKegg and Carter Rowney on the back two lines, but Sheahan should be an upgrade. McKegg has a goal and two assists in eight games, while Rowney has a goal and one assist.
Sheahan, a former 2010 first-round pick, has been in the league for many years, but at 25, has never been able to break out like Detroit had expected. In his third full season last year, Sheahan managed just two goals and 11 assists in 80 games. His best season was in 2014-15, when he put up 13 goals and 36 points. Sheahan has zero points in eight games this season. The young center has struggled with the speed of the game, but the general belief is that the center just needs to continue to develop his offensive game.
Wilson, a fan favorite, hasn’t cracked the lineup in Pittsburgh much as he’s played in just three games so far this year with the Penguins, but is coming off a 2016-17 season in which he scored eight goals and 18 assists. As he was often a healthy scratch, the general belief is that he would eventually have to be placed on waivers with the eventual promotion of prospect Daniel Sprong.
Atlantic Notes: Athanasiou, Canadiens, Kronwall, Marner
Often when you have lengthy holdouts, fans have to wonder whether one of the big obstacles (besides money) is that the player doesn’t really want to play for the team he’s on, only creating a longer bridge towards finding a happy stalemate. Even after the holdout ends, often the player finds himself resenting the organization, which only creates more problems. Not so, however, with the Detroit Red Wings and recently signed forward Andreas Athanasiou, according to Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required).
The scribe writes that a conference call held earlier this week between Athanasiou, his agent Darren Ferris and Red Wings brass changed everything and was not just the critical step that helped end the stalemate, but helped show the 23-year-old center that the team really wanted him to return to the team, while the Red Wings understood Athanasiou’s reasons for asking for a trade.
“The philosophical stuff that was causing the desire to be traded was addressed,” Athanasiou’s agent Darren Ferris said. “I really think that call turned the bus around.”
After that phone call, the wheels of progress began to churn and a deal began to be chiseled out. Custance writes that Ferris said while only a one-year deal was struck, Athanasiou plans to prove himself to the Red Wings in hopes of getting a long-term deal with them for next year — in Detroit. Ferris says he wants to stay there.
- Mitch Melnick of The Athletic writes his Good, Bad and Ugly column about the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks last night, pointing fingers to Paul Byron and Victor Mete as the team’s top players lately. While that was the good, Melnick points out how bad that is too if those two are your best players. The 19-year-old Mete, who no one expected to make the Canadiens’ roster this year, has thrived on the team’s defense in his rookie campaign, while Byron is a 28-year old, whose best season saw him score 22 goals last year. Neither was expected to make a major impact. Catch all of Melnick’s commentary as it’s a good read.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall tried stem-cell treatment for his bad knee. The 36-year-old blueliner revealed the information today after having played in his 800th career NHL game yesterday. He has been playing on a permanently damaged knee for the past two years and has been told that surgery would not help him. St. James writes that Kronwall wouldn’t go into specifics about what procedure he had undergone. “It’s a long process,” he said. “It is for another time to discuss.”
- Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, recently downgraded to the team’s fourth line, was quite positive about his demotion and has learned a lot from veteran Matt Martin, tweets Kristen Shilton of TSN. “You just want to go out there and help the team win,” Marner said. “If you don’t, then just be the guy on the bench that’s staying positive and helping the guys out. That’s what I’ve learned from Marty.”
- CapFriendly tweets that the site has confirmed that Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid has gone on LITR. The move gives the Bruins a $2.75MM salary relief pool. Boston can now exceed the cap by $2,654,209.
Mark Streit Placed On Unconditional Waivers To Mutually Terminate Contract
Monday: The Canadiens have announced the release of Streit.
Sunday: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mark Streit has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutually terminating his contract, according to Elliotte Friedman. CapFriendly reports the mutual breakup will save Montreal $654,839 against their salary cap.
Montreal had been trying to find a trading partner who would be willing to take Streit, but couldn’t find anyone. He had become the odd man out after the team got David Schlemko back on their defense and the and the emergence of rookie Victor Mete made Streit expendable.
Streit was put on waivers on Oct. 12 and cleared one day later, but there were no plans to send him to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. Instead, it is believed that Streit will look to go overseas and possibly try to play for the Swiss Olympic team.
Streit will receive $45,161 for his 12 days of service while on the Canadiens active roster, according to CapFriendly.
Minor Transactions: 10/15/17
The Ottawa Senators announced they are sending defenseman Thomas Chabot to the Belleville Senators of the AHL and are returning Alex Formenton to London of the OHL. That means that Erik Karlsson‘s return is close and Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun writes that head coach Guy Boucher said Saturday that Karlsson could be back for Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Karlsson’s return will be welcome in Ottawa, who have been without him since last year. The team leader and quarterback of their power play, the 27-year-old defenseman scored 71 points last year and averaged 26:50 minutes of ice time. However with his return, the team freed up some roster space.
Chabot was called up last week, due to multiple defensive injuries, and fared well. In two games, the 2015 first-round pick picked up an assist and had a plus/minus rating of +3. The defense had been an issue without Karlsson, who had foot surgery this offseason. Both Johnny Oduya and callup Ben Harpur were also injured prompting Chabot’s call-up. However, the team has made it clear they want Chabot to get as many minutes as possible and Belleville will provide that for the time being.
Formenton, a surprise keeper after training camp, will be returned to his junior team, the London Knights, who he played with last year before Ottawa made him the 47th pick in the draft this year. He could have played up to nine games in the NHL before his entry-level contract started, but played in just one game and only for 4:54, picking up no points. Instead his contract will slide another year.
- The Minnesota Wild also made a few transactions today, sending forwards Zach Mitchell, Christoph Bertschy, Landon Ferraro and Luke Kunin back to the Iowa Wild. All the forwards were recalled within the last day or two to help fill in holes in their lineup for their game against the Blue Jackets last night due to multiple injuries. Neither Mitchell, Bertschy or Ferraro, who formed the team’s fourth line last night, played more than six minutes in the game, but Ferraro, nonetheless, got on the scoreboard with a second-period goal assisted by Mitchell. Kunin, the team’s 2016 first-round pick, played 13:53 in his first game, but had no points. The Wild also promoted Mike Reilly, who had been demoted Saturday when Minnesota added Kunin to their roster. Reilly, played one game while in Iowa and scored a goal.
Ducks Notes: Slashing Penalties, Getzlaf, Gibson, Miller
The Anaheim Ducks are holding steady at 2-2-1, but after a 3-1 loss to last year’s cellar-dwelling Colorado Avalanche on Friday, many feel that coach Randy Carlyle might point to their struggling power play, but according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, it’s the team’s inability to adjust to the NHL changes in slashing penalties.
The NHL has made changes to the slashing penalties in order to reduce them due to the number of injuries that have cropped up over the years. However, Anaheim seems to have missed the memo, according to Stephens, who writes that 12 of the 27 penalties the team has taken this year are for slashing, nine of which have come in the last two Ducks’ games and six against the Avalanche on Friday.
“Discipline has got to be adhered to, especially to the rules when they do change,” Carlyle said. “And there is a learning curve. But the learning curve should have taken place during training camp.”
Carlyle went on to suggest the reason the team has so many slashing calls is due to the team playing too much in their own defensive zone. Several players have been hit with multiple infractions, including defensemen Cam Fowler and Brandon Montour as well as forwards Rickard Rakell and Antoine Vermette.
- Stephens, in the same piece, also writes that Ryan Getzlaf, who missed Friday’s game against the Avalanche is an unknown for today’s game against the Sabres. The 32-year-old center aggravated a lower-body injury earlier this year and has only suited up for two games this year. The scribe writes that it wouldn’t be surprising if the team holds him back today since the team has a four-day break before their next game.
- Starting goaltender John Gibson is also questionable for today’s. The veteran was hurt on a shot he took in pre-game warm ups on Friday and he was removed after the first period. Stephens said the injury was to either the hands or wrist, but couldn’t get that confirmed. Journeyman Reto Berra took over since goaltender Ryan Miller was not available.
- Stephen writes that Miller is edging closer to returning to the team and should be ready to dress soon, but it won’t be for tonight, according to The Buffalo News Mike Harrington. Miller, who came over from Vancouver to backup Gibson in the offseason, suffered a wrist injury in the preseason and has not dressed yet for Anaheim.
Metropolitan Notes: Tavares, Voracek, Bowey
If the New York Islanders’ waiting game with John Tavares didn’t have any more drama, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the critical deadline in the team’s quest to get state approval for a state-of-the-art arena at Belmont Park is a more than four months away, which will likely come near the NHL trade deadline. Tavares, who has made it clear that he wants to wait for certainty of a long-term home in New York, might not have an answer when he must make a decision.
In fact, Brooks writes that no one he has talked to has any idea if an answer will come before the deadline, let alone before free agency begins on July 1. The approval process has multiple bidders and may need more time than normal estimates. Regardless, owners and even Tavares would probably be more than willing to wait until July 1 to wait for the state’s decision. However, Brooks writes that it’s the trade deadline that will cause the real problem. With likely no idea of whether they will get the state’s approval before the trade deadline, it’s quite possible the Islanders will have to make a decision whether to hope for the best and wait it out with Tavares (with the possibility of losing him for nothing) or trade him before the trade deadline, which could present quite a haul if Tavares plays well this year.
Brooks writes the team might be able to get quality assets from teams that Tavares might be willing to sign with, such as the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Philadelphia Flyers wing Jakub Voracek is starting to take his game to a new level this year. After what many referred to as a poor preseason, the 28-year-old veteran has played great and while he hasn’t scored a goal, he has put up nine assists in five games so far and is emphasizing unselfish play. Voracek, always a solid playmaker, had 20 goals and 41 assists last year.
- Troy Machir of NBC Sports writes that Madison Bowey NHL debut isn’t going to be a memorable one for the rookie defenseman after the team lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 8-2. Called up to replaced the injured Matt Niskanen who is likely to be out until early November with an upper body injury, Bowey struggled, making several miscues in his 14:55 of ice time. He finished with a plus/minus of -3 and, according to Machir, didn’t look ready for the big-league club.
Golden Knights Place Fleury, Marchessault On IR
The Las Vegas Golden Knights may have had a nice start to their inaugural season, but Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweeted that the team just placed two of their best players on injured reserve today in Marc-Andre Fleury and Jon Marchessault. No word on how serious their injuries are. The Golden Knights confirmed the transactions and announced they will call up prospect Alex Tuch and goaltender Maxime Legace from Chicago of the AHL.
The loss of Fleury, who has been the face of the franchise, is devastating to a team who lacks a solid backup goaltender. Fleury has helped lead Vegas through their first three victories, but the goaltender took a knee to the head from Anthony Mantha in the middle of Friday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. While nothing has been officially declared by the Golden Knights about his injury, rumors that he has suffered a concussion have surfaced. Fleury has had multiple issues with concussions in his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, so the team will likely be cautious with the 32-year-old veteran. He was having a good season so far in four games with Vegas, as he 2.48 GAA and a .925 save percentage. If you remove the last period he played (coincidentally, after he took the knee to the head), those numbers would be even better as he allowed four goals in that one period alone.
For the time being, the team will have to put their faith in backup Malcolm Subban. In fact, Subban will start tonight against his former team, the Boston Bruins. Just 12 days ago, Vegas decided to claim Subban from the Bruins and place their veteran backup, Calvin Pickard, on waivers. Pickard cleared waivers and the Golden Knights traded him to Toronto in exchange for prospect Tobias Lindberg and a 2018 sixth-round pick three days after that. Subban has little NHL experience. He played one partial game back in 2014-15 and another partial game last year, totaling 62 minutes and allowed three goals in each outing. In the preaseason this year for the Bruins, Subban played in four games, finishing with a 2.71 GAA and a .889 save percentage.
Marchessault, who has been playing on the Golden Knights top scoring line, is listed out with a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old wing scored 30 goals for the Florida Panthers last year before being claimed by Vegas in the expansion draft. He so far has just one goal in the team’s first four games. He will be replaced by Tuch, who was one of the top players for Vegas in the preseason. A physical player, Tuch was praised for his work on the boards and gritty, hard-working style. He was forced to go to Chicago because he was waiver-eligible on a roster full of non-waiver eligible players. Tuch has taken advantage of his time in Chicago. In three games with the Wolves, Tuch had four goals and an assist. The 21-year-old was a first-round pick by the Minnesota Wild back in 2014.
The team also recalled Lagace to be the team’s backup. Lagace, 24, has spent the last few years going back and forth between the AHL and the ECHL. He played for the Texas Stars last year in the AHL and played in 32 games, putting up a 3.56 GAA and a .883 save percentage. This year for the Wolves, Legace has allowed eight goals in two games with a 4.05 GAA.
Evening Notes: Tavares, Haula, Boston Rookies
With the hopes of avoiding a full-on rebuild, the San Jose Sharks and general manager Doug Wilson are attempting to figure out how to revitalize their team after suffering the loss of free agent Patrick Marleau and the realization that they might be moving on from 38-year-old Joe Thornton. The team still made the playoffs last year and have quite a few solid veterans still on the team, but the team suddenly is lacking in superstars not named Brent Burns.
Paul Gackle of the Mercury News writes that as the San Jose Sharks are set to focus on tonight’s home game against the New York Islanders, don’t be surprised if the Sharks make a run at their star forward John Tavares, either at the trade deadline or free agency itself if it gets very far. Tavares, who is in the last year of a six-year, $33MM deal, has not signed an extension and has made it clear that he is waiting to make sure the Islanders find themselves a permanent home before signing. However, there are some who feel that he will not re-sign with the team and the Islanders will be forced to trade him at the trade deadline or lose the 27-year-old center for nothing.
Gackle writes that San Jose would be a perfect fit for Tavares, who could come in and supply the team with a superstar that can replace Marleau and Thornton. However, despite the great fit and the fact the team should have the cap room to make a deal for Tavares work, the team could struggle at the cap like the Chicago Blackhawks as they already are committed to Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and will have to pay up for Logan Couture in two years. It might still be worth the effort to make a deal like that happen, because the Sharks would like to be a team that could make the necessary changes and stay in the playoffs like the Detroit Red Wings once did when they switched from Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan to Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom.
- The Vegas Golden Knights issued an update on injured wing Erik Haula, who was placed on injured reserve today with a lower body injury. According to the Golden Knights’ website, Haula is expected to miss at least a week with his injury. That will give general manager George McPhee more time to manipulate his roster before he must make a cut to activate Haula.
- Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that the Boston Bruins struggles on offense can easily be looked at the rookies as the team has handed major roles to Anders Bjork, Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Charlie McAvoy this year. And while the scribe points out that there are plenty of veterans who are fighting with their consistency as well, the rookies struggles to consistently play their game could be what holds up early success for the Bruins until they can figure things out. “It’s up to them to do what they do best, which is attack, play inside and get to the net,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “Hopefully, they do a little bit more of that as a line. Some guys catch on quicker than others. We knew there would be consistency issues as every young kid goes through them. So we saw highs in the first game and some lows in the second game, and we saw them starting to come out of it in the third period [in Colorado]. We’re going to try to keep them confident, but also on their toes and aware of what needs to be better.”
Eastern Notes: Fast, Bruins, Koekkoek, Morin
The New York Rangers tweeted that head coach Alain Vigneault announced injured forward Jesper Fast will play tonight vs. the New Jersey Devils. Fast, who had hip surgery on June 5, missed all of training camp and the first five games of the season so far this year. He was cleared for contact last week, and completed on-ice skills testing before practice and had the fourth-highest score. The 25-year-old wing scored six goals and 15 assists in 68 games last year, which was disappointing after a promising second-season in which he put up a 30-point campaign. Regardless, his work as a bottom-six player has been missed. The Rangers have come out of the gate slowly this year, as the team has started with a 1-4 record and have lost two straight.
- Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that the Bruins, who have struggled both offensively and defensively to start the year and find themselves as 1-2, are attempting to simplify their offense for their game tonight against the Arizona Coyotes. Haggerty writes the team had the most success recently in the third period against Colorado when they posted two goals in that period. “The third period [in Colorado] we scored two goals and I don’t think we did anything spectacular other than win pucks, go to the net and be belligerent there. If that’s what it takes to get going, that’s what it takes sometimes to score goals in this league,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy.
- Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that despite the Lightning’s logjam of eight defenders on the roster, the team is slowly giving more playing time to Slater Koekkoek. After he received two healthy scratches and playing in only 3:09 in his season debut Monday, Koekkoek got 9:44 in playing time on Thursday’s game, rewarding Tampa Bay with two goals. Despite playing under 10 minutes, Koekkoek still got more playing time than Mikhail Sergachev (5:22) and is starting to earn the coaching staff’s trust and could see another increase in time tonight when they play the St. Louis Blues.
- The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor breaks down (subscription required), why Philadelphia Flyers rookie Samuel Morin was sent down to Lehigh Valley. Many people were upset that Morin was sent down, because they feel he is NHL-ready now. The scribe breaks down some of the criteria of whether he belongs in the NHL, pointing out that he is physically ready for the NHL at 6-foot-6, 202 pounds and he has had success in the AHL so far with two solid seasons there. He then looks whether Morin showed off enough skill in training camp to deserve a spot before finally analyzing whether he is better than another defenseman on the roster, which is where O’Connor points out the problem. He writes that while Morin is right there, he didn’t prove to be better than the other two rookies in Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim and is not ready to beat out veterans like Radko Gudas or Andrew MacDonald.