Snapshots: Wheeler, Khudobin, De Haan
The Winnipeg Jets could get quite the emotional boost tonight, as captain Blake Wheeler is expected to play in his 1,000th career NHL game Sunday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Winnipeg is just 4-5-1 in their last ten games and has fallen out of playoff position in the Western Conference, but they’re carrying some momentum after a chaotic 8-4 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Leafs, however, enter the game without the services of Mitch Marner for a second straight game and are on the second half of a back-to-back. Saturday night saw them erase a 3-0 second-period deficit against the Minnesota Wild but only took home one point with a 4-3 shootout loss. It’s an important game for the Jets and Wheeler, who’s yet to score a goal this season and has just 10 assists in 18 games. It’s a slow start for the normally consistent Wheeler, who’s had at least 15 goals in every season of his 14-year career. He enters his 1,000th game with 279 goals and 538 assists for 817 points.
Some more snapshots from around the NHL on this Sunday morning:
- Coming in at No. 5 on The Fourth Period’s Trade Watch List 2021-22 is Dallas Stars goalie Anton Khudobin. Over the weekend, multiple reports appeared suggesting the Stars were actively trying to find a trade partner for the 35-year-old Khudobin. With just a 3-3-1 record and .873 save percentage on the year, he’s quickly becoming the odd man out in a crowded goalie situation in the Lone Star state. Offseason addition Braden Holtby is having somewhat of a renaissance season with a .927 save percentage in 10 starts, while up-and-comer Jake Oettinger has yet to lose this season and has a .951 save percentage in five starts. Oettinger began the season in the AHL but it’s becoming apparent that after a promising rookie campaign last year, he’s simply too good for a third-string role. Khudobin has two seasons left on his contract with a $3.33MM cap hit and has a four-team no-trade list in effect this season, per CapFriendly.
- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan also finds himself on that same Trade Watch List. Listed at No. 7, de Haan has no points in 21 games this season but has been solid defensively on a Blackhawks team that sits in the bottom-ten in the league in goals against. The 30-year-old has oft appeared in trade rumors, and as he’s in the final year of his contract with a $4.55MM cap hit, those won’t be quieting down anytime soon.
Minor Transactions: 12/03/21
It’s been a hectic day in the world of North American minor hockey, with a flurry of roster moves at the NHL level leading to compensatory moves elsewhere. Here’s a list of today’s minor transactions.
- The AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins recalled goalie Tommy Nappier from the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers after COVID cases on the Penguins postponed their next two games. Undrafted, Nappier was a standout at Ohio State for the past four years, posting a save percentage above .930 in every season except for his last. He hasn’t gotten off to a smooth start in his first professional season, however, posting just a .877 save percentage in four games with Wheeling. He’s fared better at the AHL level with a .900 save percentage and a 1-3-0 record with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
- Cedric Pare has been signed by the AHL’s Belleville Senators for the rest of the season after spending the beginning of the season with the team on a try-out, per a team release. The 22-year-old Pare impressed in his first professional season last year, scoring 40 points in 67 games for the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies after going undrafted through his junior career. He has two goals and two assists through 13 games with Belleville in 2021-22.
- Per the ECHL’s transactions page for Friday, the AHL’s Utica Comets recalled left wing Luke Stevens from the Adirondack Thunder. Stevens, the son of Kevin Stevens and former property of the Carolina Hurricanes, went unsigned after finishing his college career with Yale University. Now in the Devils organization on the AHL deal, he has no points through four games this season at the AHL level and is still looking for his first professional point.
Nic Dowd Placed In COVID Protocol
Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd has entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol ahead of the team’s game Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, per a team tweet. He did not practice today, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.
It continues what’s been a rough season health-wise for Dowd, who’s already spent time on injured reserve and has been limited to 16 out of Washington’s 24 games. It’s not been all bad news for the Alabama native, though, as he inked a three-year extension with the team last month.
In those 16 games, Dowd’s played extremely well, scoring three goals and four assists for seven points. He’s averaging 14:03 per game, an elevated role due to the onslaught of injuries the Capitals have faced early on in 2021-22.
Michael Sgarbossa, who has a goal in four games this season, will likely draw into the lineup. He’s Washington’s only remaining extra healthy skater.
In terms of players with NHL experience in the minors, Axel Jonsson Fjallby or Garrett Pilon could be called up, but they would both require waivers to be sent back down to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Injury Notes: Marner, Oilers, Kraken
After colliding with teammate Jake Muzzin during practice, Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is “uncertain” for the team’s Saturday game in Minnesota, according to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. Marner left practice early after the hit with medical personnel, but head coach Sheldon Keefe said it was precautionary in nature and that it’s “not looking like anything serious.” Hopefully, that holds true for the red-hot Leafs, who are 15-2-0 in their past 17 games. Marner has six points in his last five games and is fourth on the team with 21 points on the season after a really rough start.
Some other injury notes from around the league:
- The Edmonton Oilers are banged up, especially on left defense with all three regulars out of the lineup. They got some good news today though, as head coach Dave Tippett reports that Darnell Nurse, winger Devin Shore, and goalie Mike Smith all skated today. However, Duncan Keith wasn’t a part of that group and remains sidelined. The team’s handled this recent stretch of adversity well, winners of three straight and a 16-5-0 record overall. The Oilers certainly still want these names back in their lineup though, especially Nurse, who leads the team by a long shot in ice time with 26:06 played per game.
- The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark reports that the Seattle Kraken’s Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz are both day-to-day, but Schwartz hasn’t skated while Eberle has. The team’s two leading scorers both missed their Wednesday game against the Detroit Red Wings with lower-body injuries. It’s been a tough opening ride for the Kraken, who sit seventh in the Pacific Division with an 8-13-2 record. While they’ve performed above-expected offensively, they’ve had structural and goaltending issues that few foresaw.
Los Angeles Kings Place Kale Clague On Waivers
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Los Angeles Kings placed defenseman Kale Clague on waivers today.
This is Clague’s second time on waivers this season. The Kings waived him on October 2, prior to the start of the season, and he passed through unclaimed.
With Drew Doughty returning from injured reserve earlier this week and the re-acquisition of Christian Wolanin on waivers, the Kings had nine defensemen on the active roster. It’s telling that the team opted to expose Clague to the rest of the league rather than send down Michael Anderson, Tobias Bjornfot, or Sean Durzi, all of whom do not require waivers.
Clague’s performed well at the minor-league level in recent seasons, including four assists in five games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign this year, but hasn’t been able to play his way into a full-time NHL role just yet. There’s likely still a bright future ahead for the 23-year-old, who was drafted 51st overall by the Kings in 2016.
In 11 games with the big club this season, Clague has five points in 11 games while registering a -2 rating and averaging 17:49 per game.
Calgary Flames Assign Juuso Valimaki To AHL
The Calgary Flames have assigned defenseman Juuso Valimaki to the AHL’s Stockton Heat, per a team tweet.
Valimaki doesn’t require waivers, so there’s no chance of the Flames losing one of their best defense prospects. However, Valimaki’s cap hit is $1.55MM, and not all of that can be buried in the minors. It appears as though roughly $500,000 of Valimaki’s cap hit will still count towards the cap while he’s buried in the minors.
It’s been a tough start to the season for Valimaki, who hasn’t meshed well with coach Darryl Sutter and has played in just eight games, registering two assists.
He still has the pedigree and potential of a 16th overall pick, however. The 23-year-old was one of the team’s more impressive players last season, playing the full season with the team and scoring 11 points in 49 games.
The assignment to Stockton is an effort to get Valimaki into some more game action, as it’s not doing him much good to just sit on the bench.
The Flames still have Michael Stone, who’s played in just one game this season, to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman.
Minor Transactions: 12/2/21
It’s been a busy day for news at the NHL level, with unfortunately a high number of COVID protocol placements over the past few days. It’s caused a ripple effect across leagues, with teams making rapid roster transactions in order to keep up. Here’s a list of today’s minor transactions across the hockey world:
- Netminder Evan Fitzpatrick has been sent back down to the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Fitzpatrick was a high draft pick (59th overall) of the St. Louis Blues in 2016 but was left unqualified this offseason after some rough stints in the ECHL. He joined the Panthers on a PTO for training camp, didn’t earn a deal, but stayed in the organization on a minor-league deal. He’s having a much better start to this season – despite a 1-3-0 record, he’s posted a .927 save percentage.
Justin Faulk Enters COVID Protocol
The St. Louis Blues announced Thursday, just minutes ahead of their game against Tampa Bay, that defenseman Justin Faulk has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Faulk, who’s in the second year of a seven-year, $45.5MM contract, is having his best season in a Blues uniform. He leads the team in +/- (+9) and is tied for the team lead in points among defensemen (10), all while averaging more than 23 minutes per game.
He joins forward Tyler Bozak and goalie Jordan Binnington as the Blues on the protocol list. James Neal, Klim Kostin, and David Perron are all injured, adding to their list of absences.
Jake Walman will dress against Tampa Bay in place of Faulk. He’s played in 14 games this season, notching two assists.
East Notes: Canadiens, DeBrusk, Stamkos
The Montreal Canadiens organization is in a state of tumult, seeing their entire front office overhauled over the weekend and losing at home to Vancouver. The news cycle around the team isn’t stopping, however. In today’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Darren Dreger says that Canadiens ownership has an interest in retaining defenseman Shea Weber in a long-term fit with the organization. Weber is currently on long-term injured reserve, and after dealing with injuries for much of the last few seasons, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever be fit to play again. While he hasn’t officially retired yet, if that move comes, it seems as though he’ll still have a place in the industry with Montreal. Pierre LeBrun also mentioned that there’s some uncertainty as to how new hire Jeff Gorton sees the fit of goalie Carey Price in the organization, and while it seems there’s nothing concrete, he notes that “there are teams around the league, some contenders, I can tell you already that are intrigued to find out where that all goes” if the Canadiens opted to rebuild.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- News surrounding Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk has evolved quickly over the past 24 hours, with news of his trade request breaking last night and rumors today that he was drawing significant trade interest. Now, on that same episode of Insider Trading, Dreger said that the Rangers, Canucks, Canadiens, Flames, and Coyotes have all expressed interest in the young forward. He also notes that while they haven’t necessarily called recently, the Blues have been historically involved in DeBrusk trade talks. Regardless, the situation seems favorable for a good return for the Bruins as a bidding war emerges.
- Per the team, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos is absent from Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, returning home from the road trip to be present for the birth of his second child. While the team is now without their star trio of Stamkos, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, they still sit in a good position with a 12-5-3 record. Stamkos leads the team with 24 points in 20 games this season, an underrated story considering his trouble with injuries in recent seasons.
Brendan Lemieux Suspended Five Games For Biting
The NHL Department of Player Safety today suspended Los Angeles Kings forward Brendan Lemieux for five games for biting Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk.
The incident occurred in a game Saturday, a 4-2 Los Angeles victory. Lemieux was originally assessed a match penalty and two roughing penalties on the play, which occurred with 6:09 left in regulation.
The Department of Player Safety’s argument for the suspension revolves mainly around the clear and evident biting motion of Lemieux, as demonstrated by video evidence. Their video explanation of the ruling states as follows:
Tkachuk spins and drops his gloves to immediately engage with the player who has grabbed him. Lemieux drops his gloves and the two grab a hold of each other, wrestling briefly before Tkachuk takes Lemieux down to the ice. While on the ice, Lemieux, feeling Tkachuk’s hands on his face as they wrestle, bites Tkachuk on his bare left hand and does so with a substantial amount of force.
While circumstantial evidence supports the argument that Lemieux may have bitten Tkachuk multiple times during this fight, we are limiting our review of this incident to the bite that occurs almost immediately after the players fall to the ice… due to a lack of evidence, this decision does not include an analysis of how Tkachuk ended up bleeding from his right hand. We have heard Lemieux’s argument that the puncture may have been caused in this moment by Tkachuk punching him on the tooth with force sufficient to cause a puncture wound. The video evidence does not support this version of events. This is not a hockey play.
Lemieux has already been fined once and suspended twice, adding to the gravity of the suspension.