Arizona Coyotes Sign Nathan Schnarr To Entry-Level Contract
The Arizona Coyotes have added another prospect to their cupboard, signing Nathan Schnarr to his entry-level contract. Though the Coyotes are currently sitting at their 50-contract limit, Schnarr will not count towards that total given that he is still just 19 and playing in junior for the Guelph Storm of the OHL.
Schnarr was a third-round pick of the Coyotes in 2017, and has taken over the offensive load for Guelph this year. The 6’3″ center was given more responsibility and has excelled, registering 40 points in his first 26 games and already surpassing his total from last season. Though he isn’t among the Coyotes very top prospects, he has developed well and will certainly fit into their minor league system next season.
This deal though brings up the fact that Arizona does sit at that 50-contract limit, which will drastically limit their ability to sign any college or European free agents in the spring. The team is going to have to clear some contracts over the next few months or be left with very little leverage in trade negotiations. This is one of the byproducts of being a contract graveyard, holding onto the likes of Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa despite them already being retired.
St. Louis Blues “A Fragile Group” As Frustration Escalates
The St. Louis Blues season has not gone according to plan. A team picked by many in the offseason to compete for the Stanley Cup after making sweeping changes to the forward group, the Blues find themselves sitting just one point out of last place in the entire NHL. Their ten wins through 28 games ranks ahead of only Chicago’s nine, and a -16 goal differential puts them among the league’s worst.
Changes have already come, as the team fired head coach Mike Yeo early in the year and replaced him with Craig Berube behind the bench. Just recently the team has decided to recall goaltender Jordan Binnington from the minor leagues to replace struggling backup Chad Johnson, and rumors have swirled around captain Alex Pietrangelo who remains sidelined with a hand injury. None of that though has resulted in real results on the ice or in the standings, and the frustration is obviously building in the St. Louis dressing room. Today at practice during a particularly physical drill a fight broke out between Robert Bortuzzo and Zach Sanford, likely a result of that frustration building inside members of the Blues.
Fights between teammates like this aren’t entirely uncommon in professional sports, but still illustrate how players are feeling during a season of disappointment. Chris Butler, who has experienced a fair bit of struggle through his long professional career, was incredibly articulate in his explanation of that frustration and disappointment today:
Guys are at a point right now where they’re so frustrated with how things have gone, that you then start sitting back. You then start lacking that aggressiveness to your game, where if you’re going to make mistakes we have to make them [while] being aggressive. We gave up the line on some rush chances, we backed in a little bit too quickly at times just because I think guys are afraid of making that second mistake, or making that turnover, that bad read that may lead to something.
It’s a fragile group. It’s hard to go out there and just play and have fun and enjoy the game when things aren’t going your way. So how do you get back to that point? I’m not sure, but it’s something we’re going to continue to stress. It’s that mental toughness. You have to show up every single day, every single shift and find a way to contribute in a positive way.
There’s no doubt that the Blues are searching for a way to turn things around this season and won’t be one of the teams throwing in the towel anytime soon. The team invested heavily in players like Tyler Bozak, Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron in order to give them some more depth up front, and so far it hasn’t turned into much on the scoreboard. Young players like Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas will be ready to make a bigger impact eventually, but right now it’s up to the veteran core of the team—or perhaps the front office—to find a way to right the ship. That could come with more transactions, or it could come from just performing closer to expectations. One way or another we’ll find out who the Blues really are over the next few months, and how they deal with this situation.
Minor Transactions: 12/10/18
It’s a quiet Monday in the NHL with only four games scheduled for this evening, though it does feature a big matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. After starting the season very poorly, the Penguins have been slowly turning things around and could leapfrog the Islanders with a win and take over third place in the Metropolitan Division (pending the outcome of the New York Rangers game, of course). That division looks like it will be a dog fight until the very end, with only 11 points separating first and last place at the moment. As teams prepare for this week, we’ll be here tracking all the minor moves.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Stefan Elliott and Paul Carey from the minor leagues, while moving, according to CapFriendly, Dylan DeMelo to injured reserve. The team acquired Elliott earlier this month in a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and will now give him an early chance at the NHL level. The 27-year old defenseman would be playing in his first game since the 2015-16 season should Ottawa insert him into the lineup.
- Vegas Golden Knights forward Reid Duke has been returned to the minor leagues, after failing to get into a game with the NHL squad. The very first player under contract in franchise history, Duke is still waiting for an opportunity to show what he can do at the highest level. The 22-year old forward has 13 points in 22 games with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, and will return to them to continue his development.
- Despite still being under suspension, the Calgary Flames have recalled Ryan Lomberg from the minor leagues while sending Rinat Valiev and Anthony Peluso back down. Lomberg still needs to serve a one-game suspension for initiating a line change with the intent of instigating a fight, because he was in the minor leagues when the Flames took on the Edmonton Oilers on last night.
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Joshua Mahura and Andy Welinski to the minor leagues, while recalling Andrej Sustr and goaltender Jared Coreau. There hasn’t been an update on Ryan Miller‘s recently sustained injury, but Coreau’s presence likely means the veteran netminder will miss at least some time. Coreau played seven games for the Ducks last season.
Los Angeles Kings Dealing With More Injuries
The Los Angeles Kings are in Motown to take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight, and according to Patrick O’Neal of Fox Sports they’ll be without two more veteran players. Alec Martinez is not with the team as he deals with an upper-body injury, while Kyle Clifford has suffered a concussion and will also not play. The team has recalled Austin Wagner, while Sean Walker is also expected to be called up to join the club.
The Kings have had a disastrous season so far, watching key players like Jonathan Quick and Ilya Kovalchuk go out for big stretches. That’s resulted in a tie for last place in the entire league, and a good head start in the draft lottery sweepstakes. The Kings have just 11 wins through 30 games and have scored easily the fewest goals in the entire NHL with just 67 tallies. While Clifford shouldn’t be expected to provide much offense anyway, losing him and Martinez weakens the team defense that the Kings have relied on so heavily.
It appears that the season is almost already out of reach for Los Angeles, who will have to start considering big changes to their core group. The team is apparently already working the phones to make another move, but so far none of their previous transactions have brought about substantial change. While sending Tanner Pearson packing and claiming Brendan Leipsic and Nikita Scherbak off waivers certainly adds some new faces, the Kings could very well be considering some deep and profound changes before the season is out.
Arizona Coyotes Not Looking For Goaltending Help In Wake Of Raanta Injury
The Arizona Coyotes announced some terrible news yesterday on goaltender Antti Raanta, telling reporters that he could be out for the entire season after surgery. Raanta was originally supposed to be out just a few days, but was then downgraded to week-to-week and is now out indefinitely. That is a huge blow for a Coyotes team that was relying on the veteran goaltender to help carry them to the playoffs, and immediately sparked speculation about whether the team would go after another experienced starter to help them for the rest of the year.
That speculation can be put to rest, as Coyotes GM John Chayka told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that the team would go with their internal options instead of seeking any help on the trade market. The team currently has Calvin Pickard and Adin Hill in the NHL crease, with Darcy Kuemper approaching his own return from injury. It appears that trio will handle the load for the rest of the season.
It’s hard to blame Chayka for believing in a group that includes Hill, who has posted a .939 save percentage through seven appearances this season, and Kuemper, who has a long history of serving well in a backup role.
Sergei Shumakov Clears Unconditional Waivers, Signs A Minor League Deal With Florida
Saturday: In a somewhat surprising move, Shumakov has inked a tryout deal with Springfield of the AHL, Florida’s minor league affiliate, reports Igor Eronko of Sport-Express. That suggests he hasn’t given up on playing in the NHL just yet and will now try his luck in the Panthers organization.
Friday: Shumakov has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated.
Thursday: The season of contract terminations continues, this time with the placement of Sergei Shumakov on unconditional waivers according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post and Chris Kuc of The Athletic. The Washington Capitals only signed the Russian forward in September, but obviously things have not worked out as planned between the two sides. Shumakov will likely be headed back to the KHL provided his termination goes smoothly.
Shumakov, 26, signed a one-year entry-level contract this offseason to try his hand at the NHL, but couldn’t crack the Capitals roster out of camp. After a career-high 40 points in the KHL last year, even his play at the AHL level wasn’t exceptional with just four points in ten games. Those ten sound like the only games he’ll play in North America, though after terminating his deal he could technically sign elsewhere around the NHL.
On the one-year deal, if Shumakov expressed a desire to return to Russia there was little reason for the Capitals to keep him around. Unless they had plans on recalling him soon, there’s little chance he would have agreed to a new contract in the summer, despite being a restricted free agent. Washington will give up those rights by terminating the deal.
It will be interesting to see if Shumakov returns to CSKA, where he played last season for the first time. There is always a chance that we see him back in North America down the line, but he’s no longer an asset of the Washington organization.
Xavier Ouellet Clears Waivers
12/8: Ouellet has cleared waivers and has been reassigned by the Habs to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
12/7: The Montreal Canadiens have placed another young player on waivers, as Xavier Ouellet finds himself there today. The Canadiens are expecting Noah Juulsen back this weekend, and needed to clear some room on the blue line for him.
Ouellet, 25, has played 19 games for the Canadiens this season after signing a one-year, two-way deal in the summer. Bought out of his previous contract with the Detroit Red Wings, Ouellet landed in the city where he started his junior career, and looked to be a capable fill-in while the Canadiens waited for Shea Weber and company to get healthy. He’d fallen out of favor in Detroit, but was still young enough to establish himself in the NHL.
Unfortunately, Ouellet finds himself in an overcrowded group now that Juulsen is set to return and Brett Kulak has played his way into the lineup. The Canadiens will have eight healthy defensemen and needed to make a decision on someone. Ouellet is the only one of them outside of Juulsen that is on a two-way deal, which may have factored into the decision. That $700K two-way deal might be interesting to someone else around the league though, as he provides a relatively cheap option that has experience coming in and out of the lineup.
The Canadiens have already lost Nikita Scherbak and Jacob de La Rose on waivers this season, and very well could lose Ouellet tomorrow. Though none of the three are exactly fundamental players on their roster, losing depth for nothing is never the ideal situation. The Canadiens have plenty of contract slots available, and are likely hoping that Ouellet can sneak through and report to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.
Antti Raanta Moved To Injured Reserve
The Arizona Coyotes had a decision to make soon on whether Adin Hill had earned an NHL role going forward, but won’t have to make it for another few weeks. The team announced today that Antti Raanta is now considered week-to-week and has been moved to injured reserve. Craig Morgan of The Athletic spoke with Coyotes GM John Chayka, who claimed it wasn’t actually a setback for Raanta.
While injuries to Raanta seem to have become commonplace for the Coyotes, this time they may be better prepared than ever to keep things running smoothly in net. Hill has been outstanding since his recall, recording a shutout and posting a .957 save percentage in six appearances. The 22-year old goaltender will likely remain the starter, while waiver claim Calvin Pickard can help provide some NHL experience.
Darcy Kuemper, who is also dealing with injury, is expected to be back before long, meaning they’ll still have to make a decision on who to keep. Hill is obviously playing well enough to remain in the NHL, but is also still waiver exempt. Pickard, obviously, is not and would need to clear in order to be assigned to the minor leagues. Risking him might not be the absolute worst move though, given that the Coyotes are currently at the 50-contract limit and have been for much of the season. Still, having depth at such a crucial position is key for Arizona as they try to push towards the playoffs in the Pacific Division. Raanta is obviously their starter if healthy, but he hasn’t been much of that for any length of time.
Poll: Will Chuck Fletcher Make A Coaching Change Before The Season Ends?
The Philadelphia Flyers were supposed to be better than this. With a captain coming off his best season as a professional, a top line center worthy of Selke consideration, and a pair of young defensemen who could each challenge for the blue line scoring lead, things were supposed to be headed in the right direction. Philadelphia was jam packed with top prospects, and had pushed hard against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round last season. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone to plan.
In fact that plan, the one that Ron Hextall had put in place by accumulating young talent slowly over the years, was thrown out completely. After struggling out of the gate this season Hextall was fired, along with assistant GM Chris Pryor. You couldn’t shake up the front office more than that, and team president Paul Holmgren didn’t take long to find a new boss for the hockey operations, hiring former Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher to run the Flyers. Before that though, Holmgren made another firing: assistant coach Gord Murphy. Instead of changing the entire coaching staff, Holmgren fired Murphy and made sure to include in the press release that the decision was made “in consultation with head coach Dave Hakstol.” It seemed then that Hakstol was safe, somehow, from the regime change at the top of the Flyers.
So in came Fletcher, whose first order of business was to replace the outgoing Murphy with long-time NHL assistant coach Rick Wilson. Wilson had been with Fletcher previously in Minnesota, and has been on one bench or another around the league since 1988. Usually when a coach with that much experience is brought in to a struggling team he’s a potential threat to current head man, but with Wilson it may very well be another story entirely. The 68-year old has been an assistant for nearly his entire career, only taking over for Ken Hitchcock in 2001-02 for a 32-game stretch. Again, it seems that Hakstol is safe for now and the new management has put their faith behind him.
The Flyers though lost another heartbreaking game last night when they fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime after coming back to tie it late in the third period. That loss combined with the New Jersey Devils’ win, put the Flyers tied for last place in the Metropolitan Division with a 11-12-3 record. It also tied them with New Jersey for the worst goal differential in the division at -13, a far cry from the team’s expectations before the season began.
So what will Fletcher do to turn things around? Does he wait out the season before making a major move, or try to get things moving in the right direction over the next two months? Is it a personnel change on the ice, or behind the bench that’s needed? Something is surely going to happen to spark the Flyers at some point, but will Hakstol face the same fate that others like John Stevens, Todd McLellan and Joel Quenneville have already suffered this season?
Vote below on how you think the situation will turn out, and make sure to leave a comment down below.
Will Dave Hakstol be fired before the end of the season?
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Yes 78% (481)
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No 22% (137)
Total votes: 618
[Mobile users click here to vote]
Chicago Blackhawks Trying To Move Depth Defensemen
In an all too predictable turn of events, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves with too many depth defensemen. Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) is reporting that the team is now shopping Brandon Manning and Jan Rutta, while colleague Mark Lazerus notes that Chicago sent out a league-wide email trying to “undo a couple mistakes.”
Given Connor Murphy‘s imminent return, the team is set to have eight healthy defensemen on the roster while only Henri Jokiharju and Gustav Forsling are waiver exempt. Neither of those two young players have done anything to justify sending them back down, but the Blackhawks might be forced to if they can’t find a taker for Manning or Rutta. Unfortunately, both of those 28-year old defensemen come with a $2.25MM cap hit this season—and in Manning’s case for 2019-20 as well—meaning they might not be too appealing for teams to take on at the moment.
There was plenty of speculation in the offseason that the Blackhawks would go after a bigger name to help their defense corps, but after signing Manning on July 1st and Brandon Davidson after a professional tryout, the group looked far from dominant. Behind Murphy, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, who are both now in their mid-thirties and beginning (or continuing perhaps) their decline, the team had a patchwork of short-term deals meant to hold the line until their prospects were ready. Forsling’s emergence this season isn’t entirely surprising, but few suspected Jokiharju to demand so much ice time so quickly. The 19-year old has arguably been the team’s best defenseman this season, though his minutes have been cut recently.
By keeping Jokiharju past the 10-game mark, the Blackhawks have already burned a year of his entry-level contract. Interestingly though the team could still potentially send him back to the junior ranks prior to his 40th game of the season, which would stop him from getting a year closer to unrestricted free agency. In recent years managers have become even more cognizant of that threshold, and given the team’s six-game losing streak and position near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, perhaps it is time to start looking towards the future. NHL seasoning is important, but Jokiharju looks like a player that will be a building block going forward and his contract status has to be a consideration.
Still, the most likely outcome here seems as though one of Manning or Rutta will be moved soon. GM Stan Bowman has already made a huge coaching change to try and fix his squad, and doesn’t seem in the mood to give up on a season just 30 games in.
The Anaheim Ducks were recently mentioned as looking for some defensive help on the left side, and Manning’s physical style and willingness to drop the gloves would likely be welcomed under head coach Randy Carlyle. There’s no evidence to suggest the two teams have been in touch, but shows that there are always teams looking to add some help on the blue line.