Boston Bruins Place Krejci On Injured Reserve, Recall Bjork
The Boston Bruins have made a roster move as they prepare for action tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. David Krejci has been placed on injured reserve, while young forward Anders Bjork has been recalled and is taking the morning skate with the team. Krejci hasn’t played since October 14th when he suffered an upper-body injury against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Bruins lost in overtime to the Maple Leafs on Saturday night without Krejci, but will get a chance for their revenge tonight on home ice. The 33-year old’s presence is sorely missed however on the team’s second line, as Boston has received almost zero secondary scoring to date this year. In fact, outside of the top line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, not a single Bruins player has more than two points this season and only four other forwards have scored a goal at all.
Krejci enjoyed an incredible bounce-back season in 2018-19 when he recorded 73 points in 81 games and needs to get back on the ice for the Bruins as soon as possible. Without him (and Karson Kuhlman, who also missed practice and is unlikely to play), Bjork will get another chance to show what he can do at the NHL level. He skated alongside Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner, a great opportunity for him to provide some jump and energy in his first game of the season.
Bjork, 23, had huge expectations coming out of Notre Dame in 2017 but hasn’t quite lived up to them to this point. In just 50 games at the NHL level he has 15 points, but his career so far has been marred by scratches both healthy and injured. In seven games for the Providence Bruins this season he has eight points, signaling that he may be ready to take that next step and be a force at the highest level.
Magnus Paajarvi Signs Two-Year Deal In KHL
Any hope of an NHL return for Magnus Paajarvi has been put on hold, as the winger has signed a two-year contract with HC Lokomotiv of the KHL. Paajarvi played last season for the Ottawa Senators, but became an unrestricted free agent when his one-year deal expired.
Paajarvi, 28, was the tenth overall pick in 2009 by the Edmonton Oilers. Despite showing off his impressive offensive skill early on, scoring 15 goals and 34 points as a rookie, the Swedish forward struggled with consistency and effort throughout his NHL career. After failing to catch on with the Oilers he ended up in the St. Louis Blues organization, where he was used as a depth forward bouncing between the NHL and AHL for several years. Ottawa was actually the first chance he had to be a regular again, but even there he only contributed 19 points in 80 games last season.
It’s hard to rule out a return to the NHL completely, but the fact that Paajarvi signed for two seasons will certainly make it difficult. He’ll be 30 by the time he becomes a free agent again and probably too old to make any real improvements in his overall game. Unfortunately this may be the end of the NHL story for another high Edmonton draft pick.
Poll: What Should The Seattle Team Be Called?
We’re still nearly two years away from seeing the Seattle expansion franchise in action, but fans across North America and abroad are already extremely excited for the NHL’s next team. The same thing happened with the Vegas Golden Knights, with plenty of speculation leading up to their November 2016 announcement.
That was a little under a year before the Golden Knights debuted in the NHL, meaning we might have to wait quite a while to learn of Seattle’s moniker. Still, today we got a little closer when the team announced that they had sealed the final five options in the Space Needle 100th anniversary time capsule. Unfortunately that capsule won’t be opened until 2062, meaning fans will have to wait and wonder what name they’ll be chanting during the 2021-22 season.
If you could name it, what would you choose? We’ll run another one of these polls in the future as we get closer to an announcement, but there’s nothing better than early speculations. We’ve included some of the most popular options down below, but make sure to leave your own ideas in the comment sections and explain why you’d choose it!
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Snapshots: Wright, Seattle, Percy
The Canadian rosters for the 2019 World U17 Challenge have been released, a group that includes 15-year old OHL star Shane Wright. Wright was granted exceptional status to join the CHL a year early, following the footsteps of John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid and Sean Day.
While it hasn’t worked out quite so well for Day yet—he continues to play in the New York Rangers minor league system—the other three were first-overall picks and quickly turned into NHL stars. Wright is trying to follow that path and he’s off to a great start, recording nine points in 12 games for the Kingston Frontenacs so far despite being more than five years younger than some of his opponents.
- The Seattle expansion franchise might not have a name just yet, but they’ve whittled down their options. The team announced today that the final five names were included in the Space Needle’s 100th anniversary time capsule, leading to a new round of speculation. There have been countless suggestions from fans since the team was officially announced, but there hasn’t yet been an indication of what it will be.
- Stuart Percy has signed a professional tryout with the Belleville Senators, rejoining the team he spent part of last season with. Selected in the first round of the 2011 draft, Percy was once a promising young defensive prospect but never quite found his legs at the NHL level. The 26-year old has scored three points in 12 total games.
Brian Dumoulin Placed On Injured Reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ injury woes continue, this time stretching out of the forward ranks and into the defense. Brian Dumoulin has been placed on injured reserve, joining Alex Galchenyuk (IR), Nick Bjugstad (IR), Bryan Rust (LTIR) and Evgeni Malkin (LTIR) as designated non-roster players. Dumoulin’s stint is retroactive to October 18th and will miss at least the next two games with a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Zach Trotman, who had been on season-opening injured reserve, is heading to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a conditioning assignment.
Both Bjugstad and Rust will travel with the team to Florida, though the latter cannot return for the first two games of the road trip due to his LTIR designation. Jared McCann was back at practice in full, at least giving the team some respite from this string of injuries.
Despite all the unhealthy bodies, the Penguins are still sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-3 record. The team plays their next three games on the road against the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars.
Dumoulin’s presence will be greatly missed, as he has turned into one of the most dependable players on the team. Averaging more than 21 minutes a night, his versatility helps whichever partner he’s skating with and helps drive play in the right direction.
Nashville Predators Sign Philip Tomasino
The Nashville Predators have signed top prospect Philip Tomasino to a three-year entry-level contract, adding him officially to the organization after his recent selection in the NHL Entry Draft. Tomasino is currently tearing up the Ontario Hockey League as a member of the Niagara IceDogs, where he will spend the rest of the season.
The 18-year old forward was selected 24th overall in June’s draft, after an impressive second season with Niagara. This year has been even better though, with Tomasino recording 23 points through his first 12 games. That puts him fourth in the entire OHL, and means he has figured into more than 56% of Niagara’s 41 goals this season.
This marks the second forward prospect the Predators have signed recently after inking Yegor Afanasyev on Saturday. Both players have huge expectations, especially given that Nashville’s pipeline isn’t exactly overflowing with high-end talents up front—save for Eeli Tolvanen who still hasn’t found his footing at the NHL level.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Spooner, Okulov
The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, and Boston Bruins fans will be happy to know that David Pastrnak‘s performance was not overlooked. The young forward took home the top spot after scoring seven goals in three games including a four-goal performance against the Anaheim Ducks. Pastrnak is now tied with James Neal for the league lead in goals with nine.
Not to be forgotten however are John Carlson and Carter Hutton that took home second and third respectively. Carlson continues to lead the NHL in scoring with 18 points (including eight last week) and has been an absolute force for the Washington Capitals early. Hutton meanwhile stopped all 72 shots he faces last week including 47 in a single game to shutout the Los Angeles Kings. If the Buffalo Sabres netminder can continue to provide this kind of performance, the team may well have a chance to fight for that divisional playoff spot that they’ve coveted for so long.
- Ryan Spooner has changed teams again, but that doesn’t mean he’s coming back to North America. The former NHL forward will join Dynamo Minsk in the KHL for the rest of the season, leaving HC Lugano of the Swiss NLA. Spooner is still just 27, but spent time with three different NHL organizations last season and can’t seem to find a home anywhere.
- Following up on the recent report linking the Toronto Maple Leafs to Konstantin Okulov, Igor Eronko of Sport-Express confirms that the Russian forward has indeed spoken to Mike Babcock already. Okulov has 13 points through his first 17 games in the KHL this season and is a potential target for teams looking to add international talent next summer.
Andrew MacDonald Signs In Switzerland
After failing to land a roster spot through his professional tryout with the Calgary Flames, veteran NHL defenseman Andrew MacDonald will take his talents overseas. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that MacDonald has signed with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA.
MacDonald, 33, played 586 regular season games in the NHL, split between the New York Islanders—who drafted him in the sixth round in 2006—and Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately he had quite an unceremonious exit from Philadelphia, benched for long stretches and bought out this summer.
Unable to find NHL work this year, it may be the end of that part of MacDonald’s hockey journey. Perhaps he’ll try again next year after showing what he can do at the professional level in Europe, but it’s hard to see him ever becoming an impact player again.
Josh Anderson Activated Off Injured Reserve
The Columbus Blue Jackets may be sitting with a disappointing 3-3-2 record, but they’ll get a big piece of their lineup back tonight. The team has activated Josh Anderson off injured reserve and expect him to be ready to go when the team takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. Anderson has played in just two of the team’s eight games this season, including a loss to the Maple Leafs at the beginning of the month.
Anderson, 25, has turned into quite the impressive player for the Blue Jackets over the last few years, working his way from a fourth-round lottery ticket to one of the most efficient power forwards in the league. Scoring 27 goals last season he ranked in the top-60 among all NHL players, firmly placing him among the best even-strength options. Add the fact that he recorded more than 200 hits for the first time in his career and you have a very impactful player.
His return should give the Blue Jackets a boost after dropping two straight games in overtime and give them a chance to overcome the high-flying Maple Leafs. Teams have tried to slow down Toronto’s skill players with physicality before and John Tortorella’s group will likely follow the same tactics tonight.
Minor Transactions: 10/21/19
It was another exciting night in the NHL on Sunday, with five games on the schedule. Perhaps most interesting was the Edmonton Oilers-Winnipeg Jets tilt, in which both Mike Smith and Connor Hellebuyck recorded shutouts. That’s right, both goaltenders shut the door on every shot in regulation and overtime, leading Smith to receive a shutout loss after Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine both scored in the shootout. Tonight should have more of the same excitement with four games on tap, including a Western Conference battle between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. As teams prepare for the action, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled J.C. Beaudin for their game tonight against the Dallas Stars. Beaudin was acquired in February from the Colorado Avalanche and has yet to make his NHL debut.
- The New Jersey Devils have recalled Matt Tennyson from the minor leagues once again, after only being assigned yesterday. Tennyson has played in three games for the Devils this season, actually recording two points. Though that total wouldn’t be notable for many players, Tennyson actually hadn’t registered an NHL point since March of 2017.
- The San Jose Sharks have recalled Jonny Brodzinski and Trevor Carrick from the minor leagues, continuing their pattern of bouncing players back and forth between game days. Carrick has already been involved in seven transactions since the start of the month, while playing three times for the Sharks.