Minor Transactions: 11/15/19
It was the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl show again last night as the pair combined for 11 points against rookie goaltender Adam Werner and the Colorado Avalanche. The Edmonton Oilers sit in first place in the Pacific Division and seem unstoppable when their big line is on the ice. As teams try to figure out a way to slow them down, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league.
- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Rasmus Asplund from the minor leagues (yes, another Rasmus), giving him his first opportunity in the NHL. The 21-year old forward has eight points in 13 games for the Rochester Americans and could be the answer the team is looking for as a top-nine addition.
- Colton White has been recalled by the New Jersey Devils, after they placed Sami Vatanen on injured reserve (retroactive to November 8th). White, 22, played in three games for the Devils last season but is still looking for his first NHL point.
- Tyler Lewington has been recalled once again by the Washington Capitals, given his extremely low cap hit. The Capitals don’t have a lot of breathing room at the moment and Lewington’s $675K cap hit is what they can afford, even if it means they’ll have to play with just 11 forwards tonight.
- The Detroit Red Wings are close to getting Luke Glendening back into the lineup, so Givani Smith has been returned to the AHL. Smith has played in five games, but is still without his first point.
Alexander Kerfoot Out Indefinitely Following Surgery
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be without another one of their speedy forwards for the next while. Alexander Kerfoot has undergone surgery to repair facial dental fractures. The injury was originally sustained on November 5th, but Kerfoot had been playing through it. He is out indefinitely.
In that November 5th game against the Los Angeles Kings, Kerfoot took a hard hit from Jeff Carter as he tried to exit his own zone and was taken off for concussion testing. The Maple Leafs forward complained about a painful jaw in an interview between periods, but returned to the game and scored.
The Maple Leafs already played several weeks without John Tavares, Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott this season and currently have Mitch Marner on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. With Kerfoot now out the team’s depth will be tested even further as they continue to struggle through the early part of the season.
Jason Spezza is expected to get back into the lineup as the team’s third-line center between Ilya Mikheyev and Trevor Moore, though they also have Nic Petan on the roster. With Marner missing at least a month, the team does have some flexibility cap wise.
Kole Sherwood Out Four To Six Weeks With Oblique Tear
The Columbus Blue Jackets won’t be seeing much of Kole Sherwood for a while, as they’ve moved him to injured reserve with an oblique tear. The injury is expected to keep him out for four to six weeks. Markus Hannikainen has been recalled in his place.
Sherwood, 22, may be best known to hockey fans outside of Columbus as the kid who got punched by Milan Lucic earlier this month, but to the organization he’s much more than that. The Sherwood family—along with older brother Kiefer, who is in the Anaheim Ducks organization—is hockey royalty in Ohio, born, raised and trained in the state. Both brothers played for the Ohio Blue Jackets minor program and suited up for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL.
The Columbus prospect went undrafted, but still signed an entry-level contract with the team in 2015 and has worked all the way up to the NHL. Unfortunately after just three games and no points this season, he’ll have to watch from the sidelines as he rehabs the oblique injury.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 11/14/19
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Snapshots: Brodie, Luongo, Vande Sompel
There was a frightening moment at Calgary Flames practice today when defenseman T.J. Brodie collapsed and started convulsing on the ice. Paramedics were called to the rink and Brodie was transported to hospital. He was “alert and responsive” according to the team, and has been discharged. A further update is expected on Friday morning.
Everyone in the hockey world is hoping for a speedy recovery for the veteran defenseman.
- When Roberto Luongo took a job with the Florida Panthers, questions started being raised about the cap recapture penalties that his retirement had caused earlier this summer. The Panthers and Vancouver Canucks are currently dealing with cap penalties because of the structure of Luongo’s contract, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that there will be no relief given now that he is employed by Florida once again. Both teams and the league addressed the issue before the hiring and determined that it was not cap circumvention in any way. LeBrun goes on to examine the other potential recapture situations around the league.
- While providing updates on several of his injured players, New York Islanders Lou Lamoriello told reporters today that Mitch Vande Sompel will likely be out for the entire season. Vande Sompel suffered an injury in training camp when he crashed into the net and has been on season-opening injured reserve all year. The 22-year old defenseman scored 31 points in 70 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season and was an up-and-coming prospect for the Islanders.
Minor Transactions: 11/14/19
If you’re looking for NHL action tonight the league has plenty of it, with eight games on the schedule including a Western Conference tilt between two of the best centers in the league. Nathan MacKinnon will lead the Colorado Avalanche into Edmonton to face off against Connor McDavid and the Oilers, with both teams trying to continue their early season success. As teams prepare for the action, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Jonathan Ericsson and Joe Hicketts, giving them some more depth on defense for the rest of their road trip. The Red Wings are out west to take on the Los Angeles Kings tonight after defeating the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.
- J.C. Beaudin and Jonathan Davidsson have been sent to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, as Logan Brown is ready to return to action. Brown has two points in four games with the team this season after his agent was outspoken about his lack of NHL opportunity so far.
- The Dallas Stars have recalled Rhett Gardner, bringing him up for the second time this season. Gardner got into seven games with Dallas last time around, but is still looking for his first NHL point.
- San Jose Sharks defenseman Dalton Prout has been recalled from his conditioning stint and is expected to play tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The 29-year old has just one game under his belt so far with the Sharks after signing a one-year, $800K contract this summer.
Zach Senyshyn Out Four Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
The Boston Bruins were giving young forward Zach Senyshyn a chance to finally prove himself at the NHL level, but that has come to an abrupt end. Senyshyn has been ruled out with a lower-body injury and will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks. In his place, the Bruins have recalled Trent Frederic from the AHL.
It’s an unfortunate turn for Senyshyn, who needs every chance he can get to try and rid himself of the “bust” label that he has already received. Though just 22 years old (with plenty of time to find success), Senyshyn will always be compared to the three players selected directly after him in 2015—Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor and Thomas Chabot.
While that critique isn’t fair of any young player, Senyshyn was at least starting to turn things around by recording two points in four games for the Bruins this year. Now he’ll have to watch and wait for the next month hoping he gets another opportunity.
Adam Boqvist Returned To AHL
The Chicago Blackhawks will be getting Connor Murphy back soon, meaning they had to move out one of their defensemen. They’ve decided that will be 19-year old Adam Boqvist, who has been reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs after six games with the NHL club. Since Boqvist didn’t play in ten games, his entry-level contract is still eligible to slide another year. That is assuming of course that he doesn’t return at some point later in the season.
Boqvist made quite an impact in his short time in Chicago, scoring his first NHL goal and generally looking dynamic whenever the puck was on his stick. Some of the expected troubles in the defensive zone were apparent, but his overall impact will likely be judged as positive.
That’s a strong sign for his future in the NHL, given that he is still young enough to be playing junior hockey. The eighth overall pick from 2018 is a key building block for the Blackhawks’ future.
Sidney Crosby Out Six Weeks Following Surgery
After wrestling with the decision for a few days, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby have decided time missed now is better than time missed later. The star forward has undergone core muscle surgery and will be out a minimum of six weeks.
Crosby has been dealing with a sports hernia since training camp, but given the rash of other injuries the Penguins have faced decided to play through it for the first quarter of the season. Now that some of those injured bodies are back, the hope in Pittsburgh is that they can keep chugging towards a playoff spot without their captain.
Amazingly, the 32-year old Crosby still had 17 points through his first 17 games this season. The future Hall of Fame forward has reinvented himself once again and recorded his sixth 100-point season in 2018-19, the first since the 2013-14 season. He has also been a picture of health during the last several years, playing at least 75 games in each of the last six seasons. That obviously isn’t going to happen this year.
The Penguins sit at 10-6-2 on the season and will need Evgeni Malkin and company to carry the load for the next while. Whether this news makes GM Jim Rutherford go out and acquire another player is still yet to be seen.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Caleb Jones
The Edmonton Oilers have made a pair of transactions this evening, recalling Caleb Jones and placing Brandon Manning on injured reserve. Manning lands on the disabled list with a hand injury, but it will give another opportunity to one of the exciting prospects in the Oilers organization.
Jones, 22, was selected in the fourth round of the 2015 draft but quickly became a prospect to remember. His production exploded after deciding to make the jump to the CHL, recording 55 points as a rookie for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. His continued success there landed him a spot on the Canadian World Junior team during the 2016-17 season, where he won a gold medal.
Since joining the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, things haven’t really slowed down for Jones as he has brought his excellent puck-moving skills to the professional level. Last season saw him get 17 games with the Oilers, in which he recorded six points. With ten through his first 13 AHL games this season it was only a matter of time before he got another sniff at the NHL level.