Trade Candidates: Jannik Hansen
The Vancouver Canucks can choose from a few different reasons why they should trade Jannik Hansen. 1) The injuries are becoming a concern; after missing 15 games last year, he’s played in only 18 games this season. 2) They probably won’t end up protecting him in the upcoming Expansion Draft and would then very likely lose him for nothing. Hansen has been a hard-working and loyal contributor, but you don’t risk losing a Sven Baertschi or Markus Granlund to keep an injury-prone 30-year-old. 3) Whether they think so or not, the team is in a rebuild and they can get a quality return for a forward with a year remaining at $2.5MM who scored almost 40 points and posted a +16 in 2015-16. The playoffs always seemed to be out of reach for this Canucks team this season, and despite their best efforts, it just doesn’t seem likely to happen this year. If there is any consolation, Vancouver can become bona fide sellers at the Trade Deadline, of which there are very few, and can find a fair deal for Hansen.
Contract
Hansen is in the third year of a four-year, $10MM extension with the Canucks. While his cap hit will count for under $900K at the deadline, any team that acquires him will be on the hook for another year at a $2.5MM cap hit and $3MM salary.
2016-17
Hansen’s 2016-17 season has been forgettable to this point, due primarily to the fact that he has barely played. Hansen missed all but three games in the month of November with broken ribs and returned in mid-December, only to suffer a knee injury just two weeks later. Hansen has not played since December 22nd, and there has been little noise about an impending return. While you can say he was on a career-high pace with nine points through 18 games, that’s a lot of speculation based on a small sample size. It’s more fair to call this season a wash for Hansen, at least so far. Lucky for him, last season was one of the best of his career and the last five years tell the story of one of the most under-rated players in the NHL. Hansen had 157 points in 348 games over the past five seasons and before that was a key piece of the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup run, all while making under $2MM per year on average.
Season Stats
18 games: 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points, even +/-, 30 shots, 16:11 ATOI
Potential Suitors
The Edmonton Oilers would be an excellent fit for Hansen. The team is playoff-bound and lacks a right-shot scorer other than Jordan Eberle. They also have a young team, but not much cap flexibility, and a good, affordable veteran for next season and possibly beyond could go a long way. By March 1st, Vancouver should be far enough outside the postseason picture that they would be willing to deal even with their division rival.
However, if the Canucks are uncomfortable with the thought of facing Hansen, a nice bargain that they have kept to themselves all of these years, on a regular basis in 2017-18, they may seek an option outside of the Pacific. The Montreal Canadiens could be willing to move some capital to make Hansen part of the team. Another team in a cap crunch and in desperate need of a right-handed scorer behind Brendan Gallagher, Hansen would be able to help the Habs in the postseason this year and help them to get back to the postseason next year. Other Atlantic teams like the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins could also use another scoring winger, and both have plenty of cap space next season, such that $2.5MM would hardly make a dent. Watch out for the Columbus Blue Jackets as well, who need a right-shot forward this year and may need one even more next year if they are unable to retain Sam Gagner.
Likelihood Of A Trade
Hansen is a rare commodity in this market. He is not an impending free agent, nor does he carry a long and expensive contract. Instead, he has just one year remaining at an affordable cap hit, and with many concerns over the salary cap not increasing next season, that is very valuable. The Canucks are often believed to be disillusioned with the state of their franchise, seemingly trying to build a contender when their success implies a need for a rebuild. It’s possible that Vancouver passes on moving Hansen and decides to protect him over a younger asset in the Expansion Draft. However, GM Jim Benning is not that short-sighted. If he can figure out a way to keep Hansen without hurting his squad, he probably will, but the odds are that his best bet is to trade the career Canuck a get a good return for him. Teams may not be lining up for a player with only 18 games under his belt this season, but Hansen’s value extends past the stretch run and the postseason and several squads will surely jump at that opportunity.
Trade Candidates: Teddy Purcell
When Teddy Purcell was putting up 51 points in Tampa Bay in 2010-11 and leading the team with 17 points in 18 playoff games, many though that the Lightning had found a hidden gem. When he backed it up with 65 points in 2011-12 and then scored at the same pace in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, they believed he was a star-in-the-making. The past three years, Purcell has put up back-to-back-to-back solid seasons despite moving from Tampa to the Edmonton Oilers to the Florida Panthers. Yet, in 2016-17 Purcell has played in just 12 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings. Something doesn’t add up, and both Purcell and the Kings would like to end their disastrous partnership as soon as possible.
Contract
Purcell was smart to quickly accept the Kings’ one-year, $1.6MM deal on July 1st of last year, as many similar players waited and became victims of a stagnant market, waiting until much later in the summer to sign even cheaper deals. However, the hit proved to be too much for the rest of the league, as Purcell cleared waivers in December. At the deadline, Purcell will be an impending free agent rental with an accumulated cap hit of under $200K.
2016-17
After signing Purcell, who they had originally signed out of the University of Maine back in 2007, to a reasonable deal to add some depth to their forward corps, L.A. quickly fell out of love with their free agent acquisition. The 31-year-old right winger had just two assists through 12 games and had been outplayed by tryout signee Devin Setoguchi and depth players like Trevor Lewis and Nic Dowd. He had dropped down to a spot on the third line, but even there the Kings had options they preferred more. The L.A. homecoming ended as quickly as it had started, as Purcell was placed on waivers in early December, and with many teams across the league tight against the salary cap ceiling, the former 41-assist play-maker extraordinaire cleared and was sent to the AHL. Yet, after the same amount of time with the Ontario Reign as he had played with the Kings, Reign coach Mike Stothers came out and said that Purcell was simply “too good for this league.” At the time, Purcell had 14 points in his first 12 games. As of now, he has maintained a point-per-game pace with 22 in 22 and has boosted the Reign to the top of the Pacific Division. Still a valuable NHL asset, Purcell does not belong in the AHL and should be back in the big leagues by the end of the season.
Season Stats
12 NHL games: 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, even, 10 shots, 12:54 ATOI.
22 AHL games: 7 goals, 15 assists, 22 points, +6, 50 shots, 19:38 ATOI.
Potential Suitors
Purcell is attractive to two types of teams as the Trade Deadline creeps closer: those who are only fringe playoff teams and those who are contenders, but just need depth and not a high-end contributor. Purcell is affordable and very low-risk/high-reward. The last thing the Kings would want is to send Purcell down to the AHL all year only to trade him to a Pacific rival and have it come back to bite them, so a divisional move seems unlikely. However, several other teams could be in the mix.
The Boston Bruins are not in any position to go wasting assets on big playoff rentals this season, as they currently are fighting just to qualify. The team has been playing better of late though, partly due to finally finding some good balance in their forward lines. One hole that remains is the need for an offensive weapon on the third line to help out Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey. While the team (second in shots per game, 23rd in goals per game) could use a finisher more than a passer like Purcell, the cost of a Thomas Vanek or Radim Vrbata may be too high. Purcell could help the team out and at a cheap price. The Bruins have enough cap space to add he and a more goal-prone player if they so choose. Count the New York Islanders as another team who could use Purcell to balance out their forward lines. The team has just recently slipped into the playoff conversation, but could definitely use some depth, particularly on the right side where Ryan Strome presents the only righty option in the top-nine. The Toronto Maple Leafs are another teams that could have interest in Purcell. Many have opined that the Leafs should not sell off any young assets this year, but trading for Purcell to help out would likely cost very little and would add a veteran presence, playoff experience, and a great play-maker for their young scorers.
The other team to (always) look out for is the Chicago Blackhawks. As they do seemingly ever year, the GM Stan Bowman and the ‘Hawks bring in some washed-up veteran or young no-name who then performs exceedingly well with the likes of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Purcell fits the bill as a player who has always performed his best when surrounded by great talent. Chicago has little cap room and is running out of trade chips, which makes the affordable Purcell a great fit. It also helps that they have struck deals with the King for two years in a row, swapping Michael Latta and Cameron Schilling last month and Rob Scuderi and Christian Ehrhoff around this time last year. If the Blackhawks land Purcell and he is a point-per-game player down the stretch or in the playoffs, would anyone really be surprised?
Likelihood Of A Trade
The Los Angeles Kings still stand a good chance of making the playoffs this year, but if they had any interest in bringing Purcell back up to help them get there, they would have done so already. The only good that Purcell can do for them now is in a trade return. Similarly, Purcell will go just about anywhere to get back into an NHL game and show what he can do before he hits the free agent market again this summer. With both sides in agreement that Purcell should be moved, the only other factor is the market.
If there are teams who still believe that Purcell can play at a high level, and his career numbers up until his limited showing in L.A. this year do little to dissuade that notion, then there is a very high likelihood that he will be moved. The Kings cannot possibly ask for much, having already placed him on waivers this season, nor would anyone be willing to pay much for a guy who hasn’t skated in an NHL game since early December. However, Purcell is hardly even an asset to L.A. as an impending free agent who is playing for their farm team, and it seems likely that they will take whatever they can get for him.
On the other hand, if teams are disillusioned by Purcell’s slow start this season and inability to earn a call-up to the Kings all season long, a market may never form for his services. That is the only way that Purcell doesn’t get traded by March 1st.
Minor Transactions: 2/1/2017
Here’s where we will track the day’s less significant roster transactions:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets reassigned defenseman Dean Kukan to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline (via Twitter). The 23-year-old blue liner was recalled Sunday but did not appear in the Jackets wild 6 – 4 win over the New York Rangers last night. He appeared in eight games last season, his first in the NHL, but failed to register a point. The Swiss-born Kukan signed a deal with Columbus prior to the 2015-16 season after a lengthy pro career playing in his home country. In 37 games this year with Cleveland, Kukan has 13 points.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE has relayed that Zane McIntyre has been recalled by the Boston Bruins to replace Anton Khudobin as the team’s backup netminder. The Bruins are desperate for quality play in goal behind starter Tuukka Rask. McIntyre and Khudobin have combined to post a woeful record of 1 – 8 – 2 in 15 appearances with a GAA of 3.42 and a S% of 0.875. Boston has just two back-to-backs scheduled this month, suggesting they won’t have to rely on their backup much, provided Rask remains healthy.
- Defenseman Dylan McIlrath and forward Paul Thompson, each of whom was placed on waivers by Florida yesterday, went unclaimed and will remain in the Florida Panthers organization, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. George Richards, who covers the Panthers for the Miami Herald, later added that McIlrath was reassigned to Springfield, along with forward Jared McCann. McIlrath, acquired earlier this season from the New York Rangers, has seen action in just five games for Florida this season. The former first-round draft pick has had trouble earning regular playing time. Thompson, 28, has played in 21 games for the Panthers, registering three assists while averaging less than eight minutes per game.
- The Washington Capitals returned blue liner Christian Djoos to Hershey of the AHL, reports Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Djoos was Washington’s seventh-round selection in the 2012 entry draft and has yet to debut in the NHL. He’s in the midst of a solid season for Hershey, tallying 26 points in 35 AHL contests.
Snapshots: Marchand, ISS, Avalanche
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will not face any supplemental discipline for his trip of Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Marchand skated behind Stralman and turned sharply, taking Stralman’s left leg out from under him (Streamable link to incident). Stralman told Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times that he “can’t expect anybody to see [the play]” because of where it happened on the ice. When asked about the lack of a penalty on the play, Stralman said “I can’t say if he did anything or not, but I’m not the puck holder. I’m out in the neutral zone, and I get hit from behind. That’s all I got to say.”
The play was similar to another play involving Marchand last week. Marchand made a similar movement behind Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall (Streamable link). The Bruins pest was fined $10K for the incident. Friedman reported that there will be no supplemental discipline because the play wasn’t seen as intentional.
The All-Star Marchand has 49 points in 52 games this season. The Bruins have won three in a row and are now three points up on the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division.
- The International Scouting Service has released its Top 31 draft rankings for February. Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick remains atop the list, followed by right-handed Swedish defenseman Timothy Liljegren, dynamic Swiss forward Nico Hischier, OHL sniper Owen Tippett, and big center Gabe Vilardi in the top five. Hischier had three points in the recent CHL Top Prospects Game, while Patrick and Tippett had two, and Vilardi one.
- Speaking of top draft picks, the Colorado Avalanche are in for a tough rebuild, writes Cat Silverman of FanRag. While pro sports is usually divided into top teams with few prospects and poor teams with prospects aplenty, the Avalanche fall into an unfortunate middle ground: they’re a poor team with few prospects. The Avalanche are by far the worst team in the NHL (10 points below the 29th place Coyotes and on pace for the worst NHL season since the expansion Atlanta Thrashers) and they’re not even intentionally tanking. Silverman writes that Colorado fans need to accept that the team is going to be bad for the next little while as they trade away players like Matt Duchene and re-stock their prospect pipeline. It’s going to be a slow process because “unlike the other rebuilding teams, the Avalanche haven’t been grabbing pieces for the future. They’ve been losing, but trying to win now, and it’s left them at the bottom of the standings with little in the way of future help.”
Minor Transactions: 1/30/2017
The All-Star festivities are over and teams are back to reloading their rosters before game action starts up again tomorrow. The Washington Capitals were the first to get back at it today, announcing early this morning that they have recalled forward Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Christian Djoos. Stephenson has made multiple trips to Washington this season and made his season debut on his most recent stint. The 22-year-old center, a 2012 third-round pick, has yet to record his first NHL point through 11 career games, but has 24 points in 41 games for the AHL’s Hershey Bears so far this season. Stephenson was demoted on Friday, only to be recalled today, seemingly to get into a game and for some minor cap savings for the Caps. Meanwhile, this is the first career promotion for Djoos. The small, speedy Swedish defenseman has impressed at the AHL level this season with great skating and puck-moving ability to go along with a solid defensive game. However, whether or not he makes his NHL debut anytime soon depends on the status of John Carlson. Djoos’ call-up is likely for insurance in case Carlson is not ready to return from injury just yet, but all signs point to the Capitals’ #1 defenseman being ready to go.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Boston Bruins continue to flip-flop their backup goaltenders. After recalling Anton Khudobin and sending rookie Zane McIntyre back down to the AHL’s Providence Bruins on Friday, the Bruins then recalled McIntyre again, after he got the start for the P-Bruins, and sent Khudobin down to play for the team on Saturday night. Well, the Bruins then swapped the keepers again yesterday, allowing McIntyre, the AHL’s best goalie so far this season, to take part in All-Star festivities last night and today.
- Another team undoing a recent All-Star break move is the New Jersey Devils, who today announced the recalls of Steven Santini, Karl Stollery, and Seth Helgeson. The defensive trio was re-assigned on Friday to give them some AHL play time with the Albany Devils this weekend. Santini and Stollery have been lining up as the team’s third defensive pair of late, with Andy Greene and John Moore still sidelined with injuries.
- The St. Louis Blue also made a quick switch regarding Ivan Barbashev. The AHL All-Star had been recalled last week after the injury to Kyle Brodziak, but was returned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on Friday to play in games over the weekend. However, Barbashev has now been called up again, without participating in any AHL All-Star festivities. Barbashev has 19 goals and 18 assists in 45 AHL games in 2016-17, and is expected to get a long look in St. Louis while Brodziak remains out.
- The Minnesota Wild have promoted defenseman Mike Reilly from the Iowa Wild of the AHL. The Western Conference leaders are about to embark on a four-game road trip through western Canada, and appear to be bringing Reilly along as an extra man with Jonas Brodin still not ready to return to the lineup.
- The Montreal Canadiens have placed defenseman Zach Redmond on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. After trading for Nikita Nesterov, Redmond has become expendable to the Habs. While they don’t have such deep defensive depth that they don’t care if he is claimed or not, Montreal feels comfortable subjecting him to waivers in order to send him to the AHL with the right side of their blue line set with Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, and now Nesterov. The 28-year-old defenseman is in his first season with Montreal, and has five assists though 16 games with the team thus far.
- Tampa Bay is bringing back Jake Dotchin, as the the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith reports that the rookie defenseman has been recalled by the Lightning. Dotchin received his first career call-up last week and played in three games with the Bolts prior to the All-Star Break. He then played in a couple contests with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch this weekend before now heading back to the Gulf Coast. Tampa Bay’s roster is very fluid right now, and if Dotchin is impressing the team in his limited bottom pair play, they have no reason to demote him any time soon.
More to come
Minor Transactions: 29/01/17
Good All-Star morning folks, even on this short mid-season break teams aren’t holding back from their roster shuffling. Here are all the minor transactions of the day.
- According to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, late yesterday the Bruins did a flip-flop, sending Anton Khudobin back to the AHL and bringing up Zane McIntyre. That came less than 24 hours after the two made the opposite trips. After McIntyre played for the Providence Bruins on Friday night, Khudobin started last night and allowed four goals on 33 shots.
- Staying with flip-flopping goalies, the Columbus Blue Jackets have again swapped Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, this time with Korpisalo heading to the NHL. Korpisalo also played last night, winning in a shootout when Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the ninth-round.
- Cory Conacher (Lightning), Chris Terry (Canadiens) and Justin Bailey (Sabres) have been added to the AHL All-Star Rosters for your viewing pleasure tomorrow night. All three are having outstanding years in the lower level and will be replacing Joe Blandisi, Vojtech Mozik and John Quenneville, all from the Albany Devils.
- It didn’t take long for former NHL defenseman James Wisniewski to impress his new team. Just days after signing a 25-game tryout with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune is reporting he has now signed an AHL deal. That means Wisniewski would be eligible to come up to the NHL if needed at some point, but it’s unclear if he’s rediscovered his game enough for that level.
Trade Candidates: Ryan Spooner
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.
Throughout the Claude Julien reign in Boston, one which has been wildly successful overall, but has had more than a few bumps in the road over the past three seasons, there has been a stigma that Julien does not work well with young players. Often the reasoning behind confusing trades, like those of Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton, has been that they “don’t fit the system”. It has been apparent that many young players have spent time in Julien’s “dog house” and if you don’t play the way he wants, it’s often your ticket out of town.
Ryan Spooner deserves all the credit in the world for lasting this long. The 24-year-old center has had to work extra hard to be an impact player in Boston, as it is clear that he is not one of Julien’s preferred players. Spooner struggled to carve out a role for himself in 2013-14 and 2014-15, despite playing well when called up. Last season, he finally broke through with a 49-point campaign and had seemingly cemented himself as the Bruins’ third-line center of the future. Julien had other plans though. The head coach has had more success with young players this year than ever before, with Brandon Carlo, Frank Vatrano, and Austin Czarnik all playing big roles. Even a former “dog house” tenant in Colin Miller has earned the coach’s respect. However, it’s been a rough year for Spooner. Julien has moved him all around the lineup, often avoiding playing him at his natural center position, and Spooner’s numbers have felt the impact of this mismanagement. A cerebral play-maker with great vision, Spooner has a lot of skill and many teams would be interested in his services. GM Don Sweeney and the Bruins won’t give him away for nothing, but if the right deal for top four defenseman comes around, they won’t hesitate to offer up Spooner.
Contract
Spooner is in the final year of a two-year, $1.9MM contract, a “show me” deal signed with the Bruins back in 2015, and will be a restricted free agent this summer. With a cap hit of just $950K, the deal paid off when Spooner was one of the best value players in hockey last season. At the deadline, the young offensive weapon would count less than $500K against the salary cap and would be under team control going forward as a restricted free agent. Spooner does have salary arbitration rights this summer, however, and could likely seek a contract similar to the Carolina Hurricanes’ Victor Rask, who got six years, $24MM.
2016-17
Spooner is a natural when it comes to reading the ice and making plays and performs his best when he is able to hold the puck and find open line mates. Spooner is a true center. However, he has spent far more time playing left wing on the Bruins second, third, and even fourth lines this season than he has as their third line center. His statistics show the impact. His assists are down and he’s taking more shots, which is not his strong suit. With the return of Matt Beleskey from injury, Julien and the Bruins finally have a completely healthy forward group, and it has led to Spooner finally getting back to his spot as the third-line center. As long as he stays there, expect his numbers to improve. Additionally, Spooner continues to show this season, after scoring half of his goals with a man-up last year, that he is a power play ace. However, the reasons that he hasn’t earned Julien’s full trust are also clear. Spooner struggles to play a solid two-way game, though he has become tougher along the boards, and is very bad at the face-off dot.
Season Stats
51 games: 7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points, -5, 38.5 FO%, 11 powerplay points, 14:29 ATOI
Potential Suitors
The Bruins can benefit more long-term from retaining Spooner, especially with Julien’s future in doubt, than they can from trading him. That is, unless someone is willing to deal a top-four defenseman to get him. The Bruins do have a very deep prospect system, especially down the middle, and could replace Spooner if they needed to. However, someone will have to make it worth their while.
The West-leading Minnesota Wild are an intriguing possibility. Staring down an almost certainty that, without making a move, they will lose a great defenseman in the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft, the Wild need to be open to moves, even as they fight for a Stanley Cup this season. Though free agent acquisition Eric Staal has worked out immensely and captain Mikko Koivu isn’t going anywhere, the Wild have made it know that they would like to add another top-nine forward and a skilled, young center like Spooner fits the bill. If Minnesota asks Sweeney for Spooner as part of a deal for Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, or Matt Dumba, it seems likely that the former NHL defenseman would say yes. The same situation could apply to the Anaheim Ducks, who had talks with the Bruins this summer concerning Cam Fowler, but their salary cap situation and Expansion Draft situation make it more unlikely that they could find a sensible way to trade for and extend Spooner.
Outside of Bo Horvat, the Vancouver Canucks have almost no promising young centers or center prospects. Henrik Sedin is 36 years old and Brandon Sutter is better suited for a bottom-six role. Spooner would look good as the team’s future #2 pivot, but is GM Jim Benning willing to move Chris Tanev to make it happen, or would the Bruins settle for Alexander Edler or Ben Hutton?
Likelihood Of A Trade
It’s unfair to say that the Bruins would need to be blown away to trade Spooner, but someone will have to make them a very good offer. If the season continues to be short ups followed by long lows for the B’s, they’ll be outside the playoff picture come Trade Deadline day and more willing to shake the team up with a deal. However, Spooner’s skill is undeniable and he is still under team control at the end of the season as a restricted free agent. They won’t trade him just for a trade’s sake.
Minor Transactions: 1/27/2017
As is customary over the NHL’s All-Star weekend, many teams have begun the day with sending waivers-exempt players down to the minors for some salary cap savings over the next few days. No team has been as enthusiastic to move some bodies as the New Jersey Devils, who announced that nearly half of their defensive corps will take a short trip to Albany to visit the AHL Devils. Joining the recently demoted Yohann Auvitu this weekend will be Steve Santini, Seth Helgeson, and Karl Stollery. Although the trio has only played in a combined 26 games in 2016-17, Santini and Stollery have formed the bottom pair for the Devils of late with Auvitu, Andy Greene, and John Moore sidelined with injuries. Helgeson has generally been the seventh defenseman this season, spending most games in the press box, but getting to see the ice in five contests. The 29-year-old journeyman Stollery has played in just eight games, but is already having the best season of his NHL career, recording his first big-league points and playing about 16 minutes per night.The rookie Santini has shown promise so far in the first half, skating in 13 games and scoring two goals and three assists while playing a sound defensive game as well. Expect Santini and at least one of Stollery and Helgeson to be back up in New Jersey after a brief break.
Elsewhere in minor moves:
- Another Metropolitan team has moved a majority of one position down to the AHL, but it should come as welcome news to the fans. The Carolina Hurricanes announced that, after a long hiatus dealing with concussion symptoms, goalie Eddie Lack has been activated from the injured reserve and has been assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for a rehab stint. With Cam Ward having played in 41 of 48 games for the ‘Canes, including 22 of the last 24, he, the organization, and the fans will be happy to have Lack back in the fold as soon as possible. Joining him in the minors will be his recent replacement, veteran Michael Leighton, whose demotion could be more of the permanent variety this time around. However, Leighton, who is the AHL’s all-time leading goalie in games played, will at least get to participate in the AHL All-Star Game upon his return.
- The Washington Capitals have reassigned forward Chandler Stephenson to the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the time being. Unlike his last call-up to the Caps, Stephenson got to see some game action during this last trip. Though the young center was held scoreless and is still looking for his first NHL point through 11 games, Stephenson played confidently in the past two contests and has earned another promotion in the near future.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have again returned forward Markus Hannikainen to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The big Finnish winger, playing in just his second season in North America, scored his first NHL goal in the Jackets’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday, his only game action on this trip to Columbus.
- The Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Casey Nelson has been assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Nelson has done his best to help Buffalo out with their rash of blue line injuries this season, but has struggled to make much of a difference in nine scoreless games.
- After his recent NHL debut and first career goal, the Arizona Coyotes’ Christian Fischer gets to continue his highlight-reel week by heading to the AHL All-Star Game. The Coyotes announced his demotion, but more than anything the move allows the AHL to honor the league’s top rookie in the first half of the season before he likely heads back to the NHL for the second half.
- In addition to placing Michael Bournival and Gabriel Dumont on waivers, the Tampa Bay Lightning have demoted forward Erik Condra to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, which has become common this season. The bottom-six groupings are set to change drastically following the All-Star break.
- The Ottawa Senators have activated Andrew Hammond from the injured reserve, and in a corresponding move and have sent down Chris Driedger to the Binghampton Senators of the AHL. However, this only partially helps the Sens’ logjam in net. Mike Condon has taken over as the starter with Hammond out and Craig Anderson on leave since early December, but with both soon back in the fold, Ottawa will still be carrying three goalies. Expect another move sooner rather than later.
- The San Jose Sharks are using All-Star weekend to get a whole group of guys some play time. The team announced that Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, and Tim Heed have all be reassigned to the AHL Barracuda and will join the team in Michigan tonight for a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
- After just recalling Ivan Barbashev to replace the injured Kyle Brodziak, the St. Louis Blues have returns the AHL All-Star to the Chicago Wolves for this weekend. Expect he, or fellow All-Star Kenny Agostino, or possibly both, to be right back with the Blue after the break.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled goalie Anton Khudobin from the Providence Bruins and reassigned rookie keeper Zane McIntyre to the AHL. While McIntyre’s demotion was expected, as he has been the best goalie in the AHL this year and a highlight of the AHL All-Star Game, the subsequent recall of Khudobin could signal that the Bruins are ready to return to the veteran as their backup to begin the second half of the season.
- The Winnipeg Jets returned Brian Strait to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, one day after recalling the six-year veteran defenseman from the minors, the team announced via Twitter. Strait was a healthy scratch last night as the Jets took a 5-3 decision from Chicago. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound blue liner has yet to see action in the NHL this season but has appeared in 182 regular season contests over parts of six seasons with the Pittsburgh and New York Islanders organizations.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to flip-flop backup goalies, sending Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland of the AHL and recalling Anton Forsberg from the same affiliate. The team announced the corresponding transactions via Twitter. Forsberg has made just one appearance this season for Columbus, allowing four goals on 27 shots in a 5-3 loss to Carolina. Korpisalo has won two of his three starts and has appeared in four games overall.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Carter Rowney back to the AHL after just a day with the big club. The forward came up last night with Evgeni Malkin out, but didn’t make it into the game against the Boston Bruins. Rowney will need to wait for his next shot with the big club.
- The Anaheim Ducks have signed some depth between the pipes, inking ECHL netminder Ryan Faragher to a one-year deal. The 26-year old Faragher has been in their system since 2014, but wasn’t under a pro-deal until now. He’ll earn $575K if he should ever make it to the NHL (which he most likely will not, unless something drastic happens in Anaheim) and $50K in the AHL.
Atlantic Division Snapshots: Marchand, Julien, Toronto
Brad Marchand has avoided a suspension for his “dangerous trip” of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall in a recent game between the two clubs, the NHL Department of Player Safety has announced. Instead the pesky forward was assessed a $10,000 fine, the maximum allowed under terms of the CBA.
Given his history with the DoPS – he’s been suspended four times overall in his career and on three separate occasions since the start of the 2014-15 campaign – it seemed likely Marchand would be suspended. However, the fact Kronwall showed no apparent ill-effects from the incident may have saved the Bruins leading scorer from that outcome. Ultimately, not losing Marchand for any length is certainly great news for a Boston club fighting desperately for a postseason berth.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- In an ESPN Insider piece (subscription required), Rob Vollman makes an argument utilizing analytics for the Boston Bruins to refrain from terminating embattled head coach Claude Julien. Vollman compares the season-to-date performance of Boston to that of the New York Islanders, who dismissed head coach Jack Capuano recently. On the surface, the two are quite similar but an analysis of shot-based metrics reveal a different outcome. The Bruins have the league’s best shot attempt differential with a plus-488 while the Islanders were a minus-293 at the time of Capuano’s firing. He also compares the career accomplishments of the two coaches, and again Julien holds a decided advantage. Ultimately Vollman concludes it would be foolish to let Julien go. While the scribe makes a compelling case, it is known every coach has a shelf life and Julien is in his 10th season as the head man in Boston. If Bruins management concludes the bench boss has lost his team, or that his message simply isn’t getting through anymore, it may be best to move on.
- Craig Custance, also of ESPN, believes the time is now for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the team’s management to add experienced talent to take advantage of the young guns currently on ELC’s. Custance compares the current Leafs roster with that of the 2007-08 Chicago Blackhawks. That happened to be the year both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane debuted in the NHL. As Custance points out, even with the two talented young superstars leading the way, it wasn’t until Chicago added Brian Campbell (2008) and Marian Hossa (2009) did the team ultimately develop into a Stanley Cup contender. He maintains that the addition of Campbell helped turn the team’s defense corps into a quicker, more efficient puck-moving unit. Hossa, Custance adds, showed the team’s young stars how important it is to play smart, two-way hockey. The scribe suggests the Leafs should pursue a similar strategy and while there may be no player available comparable to Hossa, Kevin Shattenkirk could certainly fill the role for Toronto that Campbell did for Chicago. Shattenkirk might well be available via trade, though unless Toronto was able to ink the mobile defender to a contract extension, it would qualify as a risk to sacrifice the assets necessary to convince St. Louis to strike a deal.
Marchand To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced today that Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins will have a hearing for what they refer to as a “dangerous trip on Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall,” during the game last night between the two teams. Marchand, who scored two goals in Boston’s 4 – 3 OT win, was not penalized on the play but it stands to reason a suspension could be looming.
Marchand would qualify as a repeat offender as the pesky forward has been suspended three times since the start of the 2014-15 season. As Joe Haggerty of CSN New England notes, his loss would for any length of time would be a significant blow to a Bruins team fighting for their playoff lives. Marchand leads Boston in scoring with 47 points and is second on the club in goals scored with 19, just one fewer than David Pastrnak‘s team-leading total.
The incident in question occurred at the 12:27 mark of the first period and it appears Kronwall avoided injury on the play. The veteran Swede would remain in the game and finish with 17:51 of total ice time. He was in just his second game back after missing 2 1/2 weeks with a groin injury