Ryan Murray Activated From Injured Reserve
The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated Ryan Murray from injured reserve, moving Adam Clendening back to the minor leagues in the process. Murray hasn’t played since October 26th after breaking his hand in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Not only does this give the Blue Jackets another capable defenseman to insert into the lineup, but Murray is a leading trade candidate this season as well. A deal was never going to be made while he was injured, meaning speculation can at least start to heat up again now that he’s back on the ice. In the time leading up to his broken hand, Columbus was reportedly shopping the former top pick, something that could continue now.
Selected 2nd overall in 2012, Murray’s career has been marred by injury and inconsistency so far, despite being a regular in the Blue Jackets lineup since the start of the 2013-14 season. A legitimate shutdown defenseman when he’s playing his best, contending teams may be interested in adding him this season if he can prove his health. Murray has another year remaining on his current contract which carries a $4.6MM cap hit.
Toronto Notes: Hyman, Marner, Goaltending
The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to get Zach Hyman back in the lineup tomorrow night against the New York Islanders, a welcome sight for a team struggling to find their identity this season. While the Maple Leafs have scored 64 goals this season, good for third in the NHL, they’ve also allowed 62. Hyman will bring an aspect of forechecking that has been sorely missing, while also giving them another prime penalty killing option. The 27-year old forward is coming off major knee surgery however, and may take some time getting up to speed. He scored 21 goals and 41 points last season but has yet to play in 2019-20.
More notes regarding the Maple Leafs:
- Hyman will start on a line with John Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen, thanks to the absence of Mitch Marner from the team for at least a month. Marner confirmed to reporters including Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press that he suffered a high-ankle sprain in Saturday’s game. The team had previously announced that he will be re-evaluated in four weeks, but high-ankle sprains are notorious for causing lingering issues for professional athletes.
- Meanwhile, the team is also trying to figure out their backup goaltending situation after waiving Michael Hutchinson yesterday. Head coach Mike Babcock explained to reporters including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that the team didn’t play well enough ahead of Hutchinson, but that the plan to start the backup in the second half of back-to-back situations will continue. That would suggest that Kasimir Kaskisuo will make his NHL debut this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, unless the team finds a different option before then.
Michael Hutchinson Placed On Waivers
Tuesday: Hutchinson has cleared waivers. The Maple Leafs have already recalled Kaskisuo and didn’t take long to send Hutchinson to the AHL.
Monday: Michael Hutchinson has been placed on waivers today. It appears as though his opportunity as the Toronto Maple Leafs backup goaltender is over, as Bob McKenzie of TSN expects Kasimir Kaskisuo to be called up to take the role.
It’s been a nightmare season so far for Hutchinson, who lost his fifth start last night after giving up four goals to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period. The Maple Leafs only really play their backup in back-to-back situations, giving Hutchinson the short end of the stick each time, but his .879 save percentage simply hasn’t been good enough.
That’s not to say that Kaskisuo will fare any better, given he has never appeared in an NHL game previously. The 26-year old was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth and only really started to find minor league success during last season’s playoff run with the Toronto Marlies. He has a .928 save percentage this season however and has been a rock in net for the AHL club.
For the Maple Leafs, there is some chatter that they could look elsewhere for a different option in net. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period tweets that they have looked at the market, even reaching out to Scott Darling before he decided to go overseas. The problem is their cap situation that will only really allow the backup to earn a minimum NHL salary of $700K. The team does have some potential flexibility given Mitch Marner will be out at least a month with an ankle injury, but that will come to an end when the star forward returns. Any move for a more expensive backup would complicate things quite a bit.
Minor Transactions: 11/12/19
It’s a busy Tuesday evening in the NHL as nine games are scheduled including some prime divisional matchups. Perhaps most notable is the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets facing off for second place in the Central, a position either would gladly take after the unfortunate circumstances they’ve each dealt with. The Avalanche are still without two-thirds of their top line, while the Jets are trying to figure out how to piece together an NHL defense. As teams prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- Rudolfs Balcers has been activated off season-opening injured reserve and assigned to the Belleville Senators, indicating he’s ready to action. The 22-year old played in 36 games for the Ottawa Senators last season and will likely be back in the NHL once he gets his feet under him this season.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t wait for Michael Hutchinson to clear waivers at noon today as they’ve already recalled Kasimir Kaskisuo from the minor leagues. The team has also brought back Nic Petan, who now has seven points through three games in the minor leagues. Kaskisuo is expected to get a crack at the backup role this weekend.
- Jacob Middleton has been activated off injured reserve and sent to the AHL, a good sign that he’s ready to return to action. The 23-year old defenseman played in one game for the San Jose Sharks earlier this season and is an important part of the defense corps for the San Jose Barracuda.
- The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Matt Luff, bringing him back to the team for the first time this season. Luff scored eight goals and 11 points in 33 games with Los Angeles in 2018-19, but has spent the first part of this season with the Ontario Reign.
- Otto Koivula has been included in his near daily transaction, this time recalled from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The New York Islanders have been bouncing Koivula back and forth all season, but he still hasn’t played in a single NHL game.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Abdelkader, Lewis
The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week and at the very top is a name not many expected when the season began. Ottawa Senators goaltender Anders Nilsson has been given the first star after stopping 96 of 101 shots for a 3-0 record. Nilsson has actually been excellent since joining the Senators last season, posting a .919 save percentage in 32 appearances.
Two youngsters took home the other two spots, as Auston Matthews and Cale Makar were named second and third respectively. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward has jumped all the way up to sixth in the NHL scoring race after recording nine points last week, while Makar now easily leads all rookies with 17 points through the first part of the season and looks to be running away with the Calder Trophy.
- The Detroit Red Wings will be without Justin Abdelkader for at least three weeks according to head coach Jeff Blashill. The veteran forward is out with a mid-body injury after blocking a shot in Sunday’s game. Once an important part of the Red Wings’ attack, Abdelkader has zero goals through the first 16 games and is averaging just 13 minutes a night.
- Trevor Lewis has been placed on injured reserve after missing Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury. It’s not clear how long Lewis will be out, but his absence just opens up more opportunity for the young forwards in Los Angeles to show the Kings’ front office what they can do.
Nick Foligno Suspended Three Games
The Department of Player Safety has handed out some hefty punishment, suspending Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno three games for his hit on Colorado Avalanche forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that Foligno is in control of this contact. This is an attempted body check, and cannot be classified as excusable or accidental contact where Foligno raises his arm reflexively to brace for sudden contact or to attempt to avoid a collision. If he wants to deliver this hit, the onus is on Foligno to ensure that he takes an angle of approach that puts him in a position to make a legal, full-body check.
Foligno has not been suspended previously in his 858-game NHL career, which was taken into account in the sentencing. Still, the Blue Jackets will be without their captain for the next three games.
Bellemare meanwhile suffered a concussion on the play and is out indefinitely for the Avalanche, who are dealing with several other injuries up front already.
Latest On Jesse Puljujarvi
It appears as though the Jesse Puljujarvi saga is over, at least for the next few months. The Edmonton Oilers prospect told Sami Hoffren of Ilta-Sanomat that he would be staying in Finland for the rest of the season.
While the Oilers could still decide to trade Puljujarvi at any point, it’s hard to expect a team to offer full value if they can’t sign him for this season. That deadline is rapidly approaching regardless, as the young restricted free agent would have to sign an NHL contract before December 1st to be eligible to play at all in the 2019-20 season.
Puljujarvi, 21, is dominating Liiga this season, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 18 games with Karpat. It’s hard to know what that really means for his future though, as he was putting up strong numbers for the same team in 2015-16 even before he was drafted.
The key in this situation is that Puljujarvi is no longer waiver-exempt, meaning any team signing him would have to keep him in the NHL. That appears to only matter for next season however, meaning Edmonton GM Ken Holland may have greater opportunities to move him in the summer.
Arizona Coyotes Extend John Chayka
The Arizona Coyotes are obviously pleased with the work that general manager John Chayka has done over the last several years. The team has signed the executive to a long-term extension, though did not release the contract details. New owner Alex Meruelo released a statement:
We are extremely pleased to sign John to a long-term contract extension. John is one of the brightest and hardest-working general managers in the entire NHL and over the past four seasons, he has done an excellent job of rebuilding our franchise and transforming the Coyotes into a contender. I am fully confident that John is the right person to lead us moving forward and help us bring the Stanley Cup to Arizona.
Chayka, 30, became the youngest general manager in NHL history when he was given the job in 2016 and has been a part of a complete franchise makeover. Not only were franchise icons like head coach Dave Tippett, captain Shane Doan and goaltender Mike Smith moved out of town, but the ownership also changed several times including the sale to Meruelo this summer.
Not only has the team turned into a legitimate playoff contender, but it seems as though for the first time in quite a while there is real franchise stability in the desert. Chayka’s time has been marked by long-term extensions to his key players, including massive commitments to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Clayton Keller.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Chayka had a year and a half left on his previous deal, but obviously the organization felt it was the right time to lock him up.
St. Louis Blues Sign Troy Brouwer, Jamie McGinn To Professional Tryouts
The St. Louis Blues have decided to go a different route to address their injury woes, signing a pair of veteran forwards to professional tryout contracts in the hopes they’ll show they can still play in the NHL. Troy Brouwer and Jamie McGinn have both been brought in and will practice with the team this week, though neither has been issued an NHL contract yet.
Brouwer skated with the Florida Panthers in training camp this season after playing 75 games with the team last season, but wasn’t able to secure a deal. The 34-year old actually had a nice campaign with them, scoring 12 goals and recording 21 points in limited minutes. Still, it was hard for a Panthers team loaded with talent to justify a contract for the aging forward, especially when they had young stars pushing for playing time in the NHL.
St. Louis fans will be very familiar with what Brouwer can do, after he spent the 2015-16 season with the Blues and was a key part of their Western Conference Finals appearance. Brouwer was actually second on the team in postseason goal scoring behind only Vladimir Tarsenko. Perhaps St. Louis will be able to squeeze some of that magic out of him again.
McGinn meanwhile comes to the Blues after a spending a short amount of time with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL just to prove he was healthy enough to compete. His goal was always getting back to the NHL, and he’ll try to do just that in St. Louis. The 31-year old has played just 35 professional games since the start of the 2018-19 season, but was once a reliable bottom-six forward that provided physicality and a nice touch around the net.
The Blues are without Tarasenko and Alex Steen for a while, but remain in first place in the Western Conference. Any player trying out for them will have to buy-in to Craig Berube‘s system that continues to wear down opponents with relentless physicality and puck pressure.
Chicago Blackhawks Sign Alec Regula
The Chicago Blackhawks have signed Alec Regula to a three-year entry-level contract after acquiring him earlier this season from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Brendan Perlini. Regula is playing with the London Knights of the OHL where he will remain for this season.
Regula, 19, is an intriguing prospect for more than just his size and offensive upside. The fact that he also paired with Blackhawks top defensive prospect Adam Boqvist in junior and had incredible success is likely another reason the team targeted him when trading Perlini. Those two may eventually be teammates in the NHL, especially after Regula has shown this season how he can stand on his own.
Though the Knights brought in San Jose Sharks prospect Ryan Merkley to take on some of the offensive responsibility that Boqvist and Edmonton Oilers prospect Evan Bouchard left behind when they turned pro, Regula has been given a bigger role and responded well. With seven goals and 15 points in 14 games he’s showing why he has an NHL future of his own.
The question is just how high is the upside for the 6’4″ defenseman. The Blackhawks are now in a position where they can allow him to develop slowly, given their glut of defensive prospects. While Boqvist continues to find his feet in the NHL, the team continues to develop Nicolas Beaudin, Chad Krys and others that have bright futures.