Minor Transactions: 12/20/19
It’s always a date to circle on the NHL calendar when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers meet, as battles between Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid never fail to impress. Unfortunately tonight one side will be without their superstar as Crosby continues to recover from injury, meaning Evgeni Malkin and company will have to try and hold off McDavid on their own. That is just one of the four matchups this evening, and as teams prepare we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- It’s not just Crosby who is hurting for the Penguins, meaning they needed even more bodies from the minor leagues today. The team has recalled Thomas Di Pauli and Kevin Czuczman from the AHL in time for tonight’s game.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have sent Brian Gibbons back to the minor leagues. Gibbons has been the team’s insurance forward all season, bouncing up and down whenever they need another body. The 31-year old has played in 15 NHL games, but hasn’t scored a single point.
- David Kase has been sent back to the minor leagues after just a single day in the NHL. This is already Kase’s fourth transaction this month, serving as an insurance policy for the Philadelphia Flyers on game days.
- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Curtis Lazar after Jack Eichel was made a late scratch last night. The captain was out with an upper-body injury, technically ending his 17-game point streak.
- Yakov Trenin has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Nashville Predators, who will conclude their road trip with a date against the Boston Bruins tomorrow. Trenin, 22, has played in six games with the team this season but has been a force in the AHL.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled both Jakob Lilja and Ryan MacInnis from the minor leagues. MacInnis, 23, has actually still not made his NHL debut despite being a second-round pick from 2014 and playing regularly in the minor leagues.
- Zack MacEwen has been recalled by the Vancouver Canucks, after Josh Leivo was injured in last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. MacEwan has become a favorite call-up of the Canucks after signing as an undrafted free agent, with eight games already played in the NHL this season.
PHR Live Chat: 12/19/19
Click here to join in this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Jared Spurgeon Activated From Injured Reserve
The Minnesota Wild have one of their key defenders back as Jared Spurgeon has been activated from injured reserve. Spurgeon hasn’t played since December 3rd when he suffered a broken hand blocking a shot against the Florida Panthers.
The Wild were on a ten-game point streak and were one of the hottest teams in the NHL when Spurgeon went down, but have now lost four of their last six and find themselves three points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The return of the 30-year old defenseman should help turn things around, though obviously it may take him some time to get back up to speed.
To make room, the team sent Brennan Menell back to the Iowa Wild after playing in five NHL games. Menell, 22, averaged just under 14 minutes in those games but actually showed that he might be an option down the road for Minnesota.
Spurgeon is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Taylor Hall and the Arizona Coyotes.
Snapshots: Scott, Belzile, Girard
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that goaltending prospect Ian Scott will be out for six months following hip surgery, an unfortunate outcome in what was supposed to be his first professional season. The reigning CHL Goaltender of the Year, Scott hasn’t played a single game for the Toronto Marlies or Newfoundland Growlers this season.
Toronto has been desperately trying to find an answer for their backup goaltending position this season, but there is still a huge gap between Scott, fellow prospect Joseph Woll and starter Frederik Andersen. Michael Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo have been used, but neither one has secured a single win this season. Scott is expected to be ready for training camp, but missing an entire season of development isn’t ideal.
- The Montreal Canadiens have their own injured minor leaguer, as today it was announced that Alex Belzile will miss six months following pectoral surgery. Belzile has played in 20 games for the Laval Rocket this season and has 14 points, but will be shut down at this point. Charles Hudon is also dealing with a lower-body injury and will not travel with the Rocket.
- Samuel Girard has escaped suspension after sending Alex DeBrincat flying last night, instead earning just a fine from the Department of Player Safety. Girard will pay $1,957.89, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for boarding DeBrincat.
Andrew Peeke Out Four To Six Weeks
The Columbus Blue Jackets won’t be using Andrew Peeke in the lineup for the next while, after the young defenseman suffered a broken finger on Tuesday night. Peeke has been moved to injured reserve and is expected to miss four to six weeks. In his place, the team has recalled Gabriel Carlsson from the AHL under emergency conditions.
Peeke, 21, is just the latest injury for the Blue Jackets, whose roster page is starting to look like an infirmary as the season goes on. Josh Anderson, Markus Hannikainen, Brandon Dubinsky, Emil Bemstrom and Ryan Murray are all already out of the lineup, stretching the team’s depth incredibly thin.
Even the young defenseman Peeke wasn’t expected to play big minutes in the NHL this season, his first after leaving Notre Dame. The 34th overall selection in 2016 has just 28 professional games under his belt but projects to be a regular for the Blue Jackets down the line.
Comrie, Noesen Claimed Off Waivers
The Winnipeg Jets have brought back their former goaltending prospect Eric Comrie, claiming him off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings today. Stefan Noesen is also about to get on a flight, after being claimed by the San Jose Sharks. Austin Czarnik, the most expensive of the three, cleared waivers and can now be sent to the minor leagues by the Calgary Flames.
Comrie returns to the Jets following stints with Detroit and the Arizona Coyotes. The 24-year old goaltender was originally claimed by the Coyotes on October 1st and spent nearly two months on their roster without playing in a single NHL game. A conditioning loan did get him into four minor league games, but it took a trade to Detroit before he saw any action at the highest level.
Unfortunately, backstopping Detroit is a difficult task these days and Comrie ended up going 0-2 with an .864 save percentage in three appearances for the Red Wings. His return to Winnipeg comes as Jimmy Howard is expected to suit up for the Red Wings this weekend after dealing with injury for the last while.
Noesen meanwhile only signed an NHL contract a few weeks ago, after starting the year on a minor league deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. After inking his new contract he played in six games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and scored a goal, but will now travel to San Jose to try and give the Sharks a little more depth. Noesen has plenty of NHL experience and was actually a quietly effective option for the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18 when he had 13 goals and 27 points in 72 games.
Minor Transactions: 12/19/19
The NHL has ten games on the schedule for this evening after a quiet Wednesday night, including a preview of a potential Eastern Conference playoff matchup between the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. The Bruins are running away with the Atlantic Division, but the same can’t be said for the Islanders in the Metropolitan where second and fifth place are separated by just five points. As they and other teams prepare for the busy night, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Adam Brooks and Martin Marincin once again, this time not under emergency conditions. That means they can stay even when Trevor Moore returns from injury, though it is not clear if he will be ready for this weekend after suffering a minor setback.
- Mathieu Joseph has been assigned to the minor leagues by the Tampa Bay Lightning in a somewhat surprising move, after the 22-year old played in 31 games already this season. Joseph hasn’t been nearly as effective as he was last year, but still has a bright future in Tampa Bay.
- After claiming Stefan Noesen on waivers, the San Jose Sharks have made several other roster moves. Joel Kellman, Noah Gregor and Jacob Middleton have all been recalled from the AHL, while Radim Simek now finds himself on injured reserve again.
Flames’ Chris Snow Diagnosed With ALS
Some terrible news out of Calgary today, as Kelsie Snow announced in a letter to fans that her husband Chris Snow, assistant GM of the Flames, has been diagnosed with ALS. Kelsie explains in a long, heartfelt note that the family is still positive and hopes fans will continue to treat her husband the same way. A small part of the letter explains her readiness to fight the disease:
Someone has to be the first person to live with ALS rather than die from it, and one thing I’ve always known about Chris is that he finds a way. No matter the obstacle, no matter how unprecedented the situation may be – he always, always finds a way.
Snow, 38, was promoted to AGM in September after working with the Flames for several years as head of their analytics department. The former baseball journalist was a pioneer in bringing analytics to the hockey world, first working for the Minnesota Wild between 2006 and 2010.
There’s nothing positive about a diagnosis like this, other than the strength and resolve that Kelsie shows in how she describes the situation. At PHR, we send our best wishes to Chris and the entire Snow family.
They have set up a place to donate towards ALS research through the University of Miami. To donate, please visit this link: http://uom.convio.net/goto/chrissnow
Snapshots: Copp, Seabrook, Mikheyev
The Winnipeg Jets have announced that Andrew Copp is out on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury, ruling him out until after Christmas at the earliest. The 25-year old Copp left last night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes after a collision with Jordan Staal. Jets head coach Paul Maurice told reporters today including Ken Wiebe of The Athletic that the injury is not a concussion, but that more tests needed to be completed to understand the severity.
Copp has 14 points in 34 games this season and once again has been an integral part of the Jets’ penalty killing efforts, averaging more short-handed ice time than any forward other than Adam Lowry. Winnipeg has been struck by the injury bug several times this season, but right now are stretching their depth up front very thin.
- Good news for Chicago Blackhawks fans is bad news for Brent Seabrook. Duncan Keith will return tonight for the Blackhawks, meaning someone else had to come out of the lineup. That’s going to be Seabrook, who will be healthy scratched for the third time this season. The 34-year old Seabrook still has four more years on his current contract with the Blackhawks after 2019-20 and carries a $6.875MM cap hit.
- Ilya Mikheyev has scored in consecutive games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and now has six goals and 19 points through 35 games. That’s more than anyone could have expected from him in his first year in North America, but the Maple Leafs weren’t the only team that saw a future for the speedy winger when he was playing in the KHL. In fact, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that about 20 teams showed interest in Mikheyev before he chose Toronto, suggesting that Chicago and the Vegas Golden Knights were among those who pursued him the hardest. Mikheyev is on just a one-year entry-level contract with Toronto and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Three Players Placed On Waivers
NHL waivers is busy today, with three players available to the rest of the league. Austin Czarnik of the Calgary Flames, Eric Comrie of the Detroit Red Wings and Stefan Noesen of the Pittsburgh Penguins are all on waivers, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
If claimed, it would be the fourth organization of the season for Comrie, who was already claimed off waivers once this year. Starting with the Winnipeg Jets, he was nabbed by the Arizona Coyotes before being traded to Detroit when Jimmy Howard went down to injury. Now that Howard is nearing a return, the Red Wings don’t have room for Comrie on the roster and will have to hope they can sneak him through waivers.
Noesen was only signed by the Penguins earlier this month, meaning it is unlikely he’ll be grabbed by another team at this point. The 26-year old forward was lighting it up in the AHL when he inked his deal with Pittsburgh, but is still no more than a depth forward at the NHL level. In six games this season he has just one point.
Czarnik however is a different story from the other two. The 27-year old signed a two-year, $2.5MM deal with Calgary in 2018 after a dominant season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins and ended up playing 54 games for them in 2018-19. While he had just 18 points, there was enough success to believe he would be a regular in the bottom-six this season. That plan was derailed by an injury, meaning Czarnik has only played in eight games with the Flames and three in the AHL on a conditioning loan.
While the Flames have other options, a claim on Czarnik is a real possibility from elsewhere. For a team looking for a little more wing depth he is more than capable and at this point in the season isn’t breaking the bank even with his $1.25MM cap hit.