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Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Wayne Simmonds

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have made another roster change, recalling Wayne Simmonds from the minor leagues and assigning Filip Kral back to the AHL. The move comes in advance of Timothy Liljegren’s expected return tomorrow night.

It also follows an incident against the Philadelphia Flyers where Auston Matthews was involved in a scrum. When Travis Konecny tried to fight the Maple Leafs superstar, Michael Bunting and (especially) Mark Giordano stepped in to defend him. Simmonds, of course, is known more for his physicality than his offensive prowess at this point in his career, and could be inserted back into the lineup to give Toronto a little more bite.

Kral, 23, made his NHL debut and appeared in two games during his recall, averaging just under ten minutes of ice time. The fifth-round pick might be a decent depth piece for the team but it is obvious that head coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t trust him to play a regular shift, meaning Liljegren’s return will be a welcome sight for Maple Leafs fans.

Montreal Canadiens Exploring Trade Options

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When the Montreal Canadiens placed Evgenii Dadonov on injured reserve yesterday, there were quite a few smirks going up around the hockey world. It was “kicking the can down the road” as Eric Engels of Sportsnet put it, opening up a roster spot by moving out a forward that wasn’t playing anyway. It avoided having to waive a player like Dadonov but doesn’t fix the root of the problem – Montreal has too many forwards.

Yesterday on TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun explained that the Canadiens have been trying to “create a trade market” by calling around to several teams in the league. One of those is the Washington Capitals, who lost Connor Brown to ACL surgery, but nothing is imminent between the two as the Capitals look at internal options first.

LeBrun lists Dadonov, Jonathan Drouin, and Mike Hoffman – three players who have all been healthy scratches recently – among the names that could be on the move.

Each of those three, it should be noted, come with relatively hefty contracts. Dadonov carries a $5MM cap hit this season, Drouin a $5.5MM hit, and Hoffman is at $4.5MM through next season.

With Dadonov on injured reserve, the team is currently carrying 14 forwards. Of that group, only Brendan Gallagher and Hoffman are over the age of 30, and many are 25-and-under. The team is obviously focused on moving toward their youth and away from the older generation of players, but whether they will be able to actually pull off a trade remains to be seen.

Ottawa Senators Initiate Process Of Sale

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Over the last few days, reports had emerged that indicated the Ottawa Senators would be the next NHL team up for sale. While that discussion quickly turned to potential buyers — especially when actor Ryan Reynolds’ name was included – the team had not actually confirmed anything.

Today, that changed, as the Senators announced that a process has been initiated for the sale of the team. As reported, they have hired Galatioto Sports Partners to assist in the transaction. Sheldon Plener, chairman of the team, released a statement:

Galatioto Sports Partners has been retained as financial advisor and a process has been initiated for the sale of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club.

This was a necessary and prudent step to connect with those deeply interested parties who can show us what their vision is for the future of the team. A condition of any sale will be that the team remains in Ottawa.

That last part will quell many uneasy hearts in Ottawa, who were worried that a sale could potentially take away their franchise. Even beyond Plener’s pledge, the NHL also includes standard clauses in sales which block relocation for a set period of time. If the sale does happen, which looks likely at this point, a new owner would not be allowed to simply pluck the team out of Ottawa.

Still, a change in ownership will be a huge shift for the Senators, who were owned by the late Eugene Melnyk since 2003. After his death earlier this year, control of the team shifted to his daughters, both in their early twenties.

A new owner, whether it is a group or an individual, will have some big decisions to make quickly. The Senators are in dire need of a new downtown arena, and the team has been intimately involved with the development plan at LeBreton Flats. They were approved as the preferred bidder for the site, though there are no shovels in the ground yet, meaning things could go south depending on how the sale is processed (Senators fans will be all too familiar with arena plans disappearing quickly).

The team was recently valued at $650MM by Sportico but some have indicated that a sale would be for much more than that.

Ottawa Senators Activate Cam Talbot

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It’s been a tough stretch for the Ottawa Senators, who now find themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings despite a positive goal differential. The team has lost three in a row and hasn’t gotten the goaltending they were hoping for so far.

Part of that is due to the absence of Cam Talbot, something that was rectified today as the Senators activated the veteran netminder from injured reserve. Talbot has been out since the beginning of October after arriving in Ottawa through an offseason trade with the Minnesota Wild.

While Anton Forsberg will still start tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Talbot is going to dress and be the backup. He is expected to start on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The 35-year-old Talbot has been a reliable option throughout his career, posting a .915 save percentage in nearly 400 regular season appearances. Last season with the Wild he went 32-12-4 with a .911 before essentially being replaced by deadline acquisition Marc-Andre Fleury.

Now with Ottawa, he should get a good chunk of the starts from here on out. If he can improve on the .909 that Forsberg has provided so far, the Senators look as though they can make some noise in a playoff chase.

One thing stopping them from doing that is the absence of defensive stalwart Artem Zub, who is still expected to miss another few games, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.

Nashville Predators Recall Mark Jankowski

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After Kiefer Sherwood cleared waivers, the Nashville Predators made an interesting roster swap. Mark Jankowski has been recalled from the AHL, with Sherwood going down in his place.

Jankowski, 28, was once a regular in the NHL, scoring 31 goals and 57 points over his first two seasons with the Calgary Flames. The first-round pick appeared to be a solid middle-six forward that could chip in offensively and use his 6’4″ frame to add some physicality.

It’s been several years since that was the case though, and Jankowski spent more time last season in the minor leagues than in the NHL. This year he settled for a one-year, two-way contract with the Predators that came with a huge minor league guarantee, suggesting that he would be spending most of his time with the Milwaukee Admirals.

Now, after scoring five goals and nine points in his first seven AHL games, Jankowski will join the big club as an extra forward. Whether he gets another chance to get his NHL career back on track remains to be seen but he couldn’t have done much more for Milwaukee to begin his year.

Kiefer Sherwood Clears Waivers

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Nov 3: Sherwood has cleared, and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Nov 2: Not every NHL season will have two Kief(f)ers placed on waivers. After Kieffer Bellows was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this year, Nashville Predators forward Kiefer Sherwood now finds himself on waivers, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets.

Sherwood, 27, made the Predators roster rather unexpectedly out of training camp and has played in five games so far with the team. He has one goal (the first goal of the NHL season) and two points, but had found his way to the press box recently. After being re-inserted into the lineup yesterday and receiving just 9:18 of ice time, it appears as though he’s headed for the minor leagues.

Undrafted, Sherwood has 92 NHL games under his belt and was one of the AHL’s most dangerous players a year ago. He set new career highs with 36 goals and 75 points in 57 games for the Colorado Eagles, and appeared to be in the mix for full-time NHL minutes.

If someone claims him, that could still be possible, but given the face that he cleared twice last season, he’s probably headed to the minors.

Evgenii Dadonov Moved To Injured Reserve; Joel Edmundson Activated

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The Montreal Canadiens have moved Evgenii Dadonov to injured reserve, clearing the way for the activation of Joel Edmundson. The veteran defenseman no longer appears on the injured reserve list on the NHL media site, but John Lu of TSN reports that he will be a game-time decision.

Dadonov’s placement is interesting, as Eric Engels of Sportsnet suggested that the forward may end up on waivers today to clear room for Edmundson and referred to this transaction as “kicking the can down the road.”

The 33-year-old Dadonov has essentially played his way out of the mix in Montreal with zero points through eight games. He’s only taken ten shots on goal during that stretch and saw his minutes reduced to fewer than 12 before ending up in the press box as a healthy scratch.

It seems that his time in Montreal might be running out, though they’ll now have a little bit of flexibility to make a decision. With a $5MM cap hit it seems unlikely that there would be much of a trade market for Dadonov, even if he did score 20 goals last season. Notably, he’s actually making $6.5MM in salary this season in the final year of his contract.

Jeremy Swayman Out Week-To-Week

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The Boston Bruins will be in the hands of Linus Ullmark for the next little while, as Jeremy Swayman is out on a week-to-week basis and has returned to Boston for evaluation. Derek Forbort is also out week-to-week, though the team will have an official announcement on his status later today, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

David Krejci and Craig Smith are day-to-day and could be available for Saturday’s game.

The Bruins recalled Keith Kinkaid yesterday, signaling that it would be a little while for Swayman to get back in the net. The 23-year-old was off to a shaky start to the year with ten goals allowed on just 82 shots but is a key part of the team’s goaltending tandem.

Ullmark meanwhile has been outstanding, posting a .932 save percentage through eight appearances, winning all seven of his starts. While the Bruins won’t want to overload the 29-year-old, as he has never started more than 41 games in a single season, he’s certainly more than capable of carrying the load for a little while.

Filip Bratt Released From AHL Contract

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The Utica Comets have released Filip Bratt from his AHL contract, allowing him to return to Sweden if he so chooses. The young defenseman had played three games for their ECHL affiliate, the Adirondack Thunder.

Bratt, 20, is the younger brother of New Jersey Devils star Jesper Bratt and had agreed to a two-way minor league deal this fall. Undrafted, he had worked his way up to the Swedish second league the last two seasons and appeared to at least have a chance of sticking in North America.

Maybe he will try again in a few years, but a release at this point usually suggests a return to Europe. Given that he won’t turn 21 until May, there’s still plenty of development time left for the younger Bratt.

Remember, his brother was also something of a late bloomer, selected 162nd overall in his draft year and playing an extra year in the second tier before bursting onto the NHL scene in 2017.

KHL Contract Terminated For Chris Bigras

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A long-time AHL defenseman may be on his way home. The KHL announced today that Barys Astana has terminated its deal with Chris Bigras after 23 games. Bigras is a free agent once again.

The 27-year-old was once a highly regarded prospect for the Colorado Avalanche, selected 32nd overall in 2013. He would make it to the NHL at the age of 20, but failed to stick around for long. In 46 career games, all with Colorado, he has four points.

In the AHL, Bigras has played 279 games and racked up 120 points. Amazingly, he hasn’t suited up for a single playoff game during that time – even despite winning a Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves last season.

During those 23 games for Astana, he generated just a single assist and was a -8 rating, something that was even included in the termination announcement. His time there was certainly not very productive, and now he enters the free agent market again partway through the season.

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