Minor Transactions: 02/13/20
The entire hockey world watched two icons have their numbers raised to the rafters together in Vancouver last night, as Daniel and Henrik Sedin were honored by the Canucks. Twin brothers who were miraculously drafted second and third overall by the same franchise (after some wheeling and dealing by then-GM Brian Burke) spent 17 seasons connecting with a city and fanbase. The Sedins each scored over 1,000 points in a Canucks sweater and no one else will ever wear #22 or #33 in Vancouver. As the Canucks and other teams prepare to go back to work this evening, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- As the Dallas Stars get set to face the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, they’ve placed Alexander Radulov on injured reserve. Taking his place is top prospect Jason Robertson, who could make his NHL debut. Selected 39th overall in 2017, Robertson has taken quite well to professional hockey, recording 20 goals and 35 points as a rookie with the Texas Stars.
- The Boston Bruins have returned Jeremy Lauzon to the minor leagues, after he served the final game of his suspension by sitting out last night. Lauzon could be an option for the Bruins down the stretch, but has spent most of the season in the AHL.
- Yakov Trenin has been sent to the AHL by the Nashville Predators, as the team readies for their matchup against the New York Islanders tonight. Trenin has played 17 games for the Predators this season and must be getting used to the trip between leagues.
- Once again the Winnipeg Jets have recalled Andrei Chibisov, and perhaps this is the time he will make his NHL debut. The 26-year old forward has 24 points in 47 games for the Manitoba Moose in his first season in North America.
- The Buffalo Sabres have sent Scott Wilson back to the minor leagues, as Victor Olofsson and Kyle Okposo return to the lineup tonight. Olofsson will try to resume his excellent rookie campaign and provide some more scoring punch for the Sabres.
- Mark Barberio has been recalled by the Colorado Avalanche, after playing in 14 games with the team earlier this season. The 29-year old defenseman has two points on the season.
- The San Jose Sharks have recalled both Antti Suomela and Noah Gregor from the minor leagues, though the latter seems to be dealing with a minor injury. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweets that Suomela will be the extra forward for tomorrow’s Sharks’ game against the Winnipeg Jets.
- The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Barrett Hayton from the minor leagues, sending Aaron Ness down to make room. Hayton had to come up now that his conditioning loan has expired, and will need to either stay with Arizona or go back to the CHL for the rest of the year.
Minor Transactions: 02/10/20
We’re now just two weeks from the 2020 NHL trade deadline and the rental market is still not exactly clear. Even after the Toronto Maple Leafs squeezed a backup goaltender out of Los Angeles, we’re still waiting on teams to really start buying and selling. As they prepare for the six games on the schedule, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.
- The Buffalo Sabres have returned Andrew Hammond to the minor leagues, though it is not clear whether he’ll be back for tomorrow’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. Carter Hutton was away from the team for a family reason during yesterday’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
- Mathieu Joseph has been recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning, returning to the NHL after more than a month away from the team. The 23-year old winger has seven points in 34 games with the Lightning this season.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Pontus Aberg to help them out at practice, given some absences up front. Though William Nylander is back, John Tavares and Justin Holl have taken his place on the shelf with an illness. Zach Hyman is also missing the practice as a maintenance day, while Kyle Clifford is away attending a funeral.
- Alex Lyon has been returned to the AHL by the Philadelphia Flyers, indicating that Carter Hart is ready to return for them. The Flyers take on the Florida Panthers tonight in the first half of an important back-to-back.
- Martin Fehervary has been recalled and will play for the Washington Capitals again tonight, after being involved in a paper transaction yesterday. Fehervary is getting a look in order for the Capitals to know what kind of depth they have on defense as the deadline nears.
- Calle Rosen has been returned to the Colorado Eagles, as the Avalanche return home after a five-game road trip. Rosen has played eight games for the Avalanche this season after being acquired in the Tyson Barrie–Nazem Kadri deal last summer.
Buffalo Sabres Goaltending Down To AHL Tandem
The Buffalo Sabres already had some issues in the net with their tandem of Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton this season. While neither has been too disappointing, neither has been a difference maker either. However, just in the last couple of weeks, that tandem has disappeared, at least temporarily. The team lost Ullmark to a leg injury and was placed on injured reserve on Jan. 29th and now Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Carter Hutton will be out for family reasons. No word on the timetable for his return.
The team already had called AHL’s Jonas Johansson when Ullmark went down and now the team has recalled Andrew Hammond to replace Hutton. That leaves the Rochester Americans’ tandem in charge of the NHL team.
Johansson is expected to start Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks. The 24-year-old has made two relief appearances for Buffalo this season, posting a 2.58 GAA and a .886 save percentage. However, he has been much more successful in Rochester. He was named to the AHL All-Star Game with a 2.19 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 20 appearances.
Hammond, no stranger to the NHL with 56 NHL appearances including several key winning streaks with both Ottawa and Colorado over the years, has not made an appearance since filling in for the Avalanche during the 2017-18 playoffs. He has a 2.57 GAA and a .905 save percentage with the Americans in 27 appearances this season.
Both will be expected to hold down the pipes for Buffalo until either Ullmark or Hutton are able to return.
Minor Transactions: 02/09/20
It’s the first Sunday without football since September 1st, but the NHL is here to take over with a five-game slate today. The action kicks off at 12:30 local time in Detroit, where the Red Wings host the Boston Bruins. The contest doubles as both an Original Six match-up and a meeting between the best and worst records in the league. Zdeno Chara, who was honored yesterday in Boston for 1500 career games and 1000 games with the Bruins, will lead his team into what they hope is their seventh win in a row. Meanwhile, the Blackhaws-Jets and Avalanche-Wild present Central Division collisions between teams all jockeying for playoff position. Colorado would like to catch St. Louis atop the conference, while Chicago, Minnesota, and Winnipeg are just hoping they can punch their ticket to the postseason. Amidst the action today, there will also be a number of minor moves as teams prepare their rosters for the week ahead. Sunday is typically a busy day for transactions, and early indications are that today will be no different. Follow along with all the moves here:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that rookie center Ryan MacInnis has been reassigned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. MacInnis, 23, has just one point in nine games with Columbus this season. The once-promising pivot looks as though his future in the NHL will likely be as a bottom-six contributor, rather than the top-six forward he was projected as when the Arizona Coyotes selected him in the second round in 2014. His spot is being taken on the roster by top prospect Liam Foudy as his OHL team in London announced that the 20-year-old has been recalled on an emergency basis. The 18th pick in 2018 has 43 points in 32 games with the Knights this season and can play in up to nine games without burning the first season of his entry-level deal.
- After sending defenseman Lawrence Pilut to the AHL on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres have turned around and called him back up this morning. Pilut has been an impressive contributor for the Rochester Americans this season, but has been held off the scoreboard with Buffalo.
- Conversely, the Washington Capitals have demoted their young defender Martin Fehervary after he was recalled and added to the lineup yesterday ahead of the team’s game against the Flyers. CapFriendly reports that Fehervary is on his way back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where he has already logged 45 appearances this season.
- CapFriendly also reports that Edmonton Oilers forward Tyler Benson has been returned to the AHL. The promising prospect leads the Bakersfield Condors with 35 points in 42 games so far this year.
- The Vegas Golden Knights announced that oft-on-the-move forward Nicolas Roy has again been reassigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The big forward has split his season between both clubs and has been a consistent contributor at both levels. At least if Roy continues to be a frequent mover next season, the trip will be shorter, as the Knights hope to bring an AHL affiliate to the Las Vegas area.
- The Athletic’s Eric Stephens relays that the Anaheim Ducks have swapped a trio a prospects. Heading to the parent club are defensemen Brendan Guhle and Josh Mahura, while forward Kiefer Sherwood will return to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The uneven exchange and the addition of two defensemen indicates that veteran Erik Gudbranson has been moved to the injured reserve. The defensive duo should be able to fill in nicely, as they have each registered four points in a combined 29 points this season.
- With the Bruins “expecting something” from Jeremy Lauzon’s hearing with Player Safety this morning, Brandon Carlo flying to meet the team in Detroit after a personal day on Saturday, and John Moore leaving yesterday’s game in the third period, the team had more than enough reason to use an emergency recall on Urho Vaakanainen. However, the top D prospect is not expected to play after all, as Carlo and Moore are anticipated to be good to go for the matinee. Vaakanainen was sent back to Providence after the game, the team announced.
- The Detroit Red Wings have activated defenseman Mike Green off of injured reserve, according to CapFriendly, and he is playing against the Boston Bruins Sunday. Green has missed six contests with an upper-body injury. He has just eight points this season to go with a minus-27 rating.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have assigned defenseman Robbie Russo to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Russo was recalled on Thursday to serve as an extra defenseman, but wasn’t needed and didn’t appear in a game for the Coyotes. The 26-year-old has 14 points in Tucson.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have recalled forward Colby Cave from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Even after sending Tyler Benson down earlier today (look above), the team still had an opening on the roster, which Cave should fill. He has just one goal in five games with Edmonton this season and 10 goals in 40 games in Bakersfield.
Evening Notes: Lauzon, Raanta, Kuemper, Hart, Olofsson
The Department of Player Safety announced that they will have a hearing Sunday for Boston Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon for an illegal check to the head of Arizona Coyotes forward Derek Stepan.
The incident happened at 19:34 of the first period of Saturday’s game between Boston and Arizona when Lauzon caught Stepan with a high hit against the boards (video here). Stepan was shaken up, but returned for the second period of the game. Lauzon received a five-minute major and a match penalty. The 22-year-old has appeared in seven games for Boston this season and has one goal.
- Before their afternoon game Saturday, the Arizona Coyotes announced that Antti Raanta would start against the Boston Bruins. However, the team instead put backup Adin Hill into the starting lineup not long after. The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that it was announced after the game that Raanta missed the game due to a lower-body injury. That could be disastrous, Morgan adds that head coach Rick Tocchet did say that starter Darcy Kuemper, who has been out since Dec. 19 with a lower-body injury, is expected to practice with the team in Montreal on Sunday and, if all goes well, could be available for Monday’s game against the Canadiens. Kuemper has been terrific this season for the Coyotes in 29 appearances. He boasts a 2.17 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
- Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart could be back as soon as Monday against Florida. The second-year goalie has been out since Jan. 13 with an abdomen injury. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that he believes Hart could be ready soon, but much will defend on how Hart feels on Sunday before a final decision can be made. The 21-year-old has a 2.61 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 32 games this season.
- The Buffalo Sabres need to wait at least another week to get back rookie forward Victor Olofsson. Head coach Ralph Krueger said that Olofsson was close. “When you see a player back from an injury from this time period, you know that we are nearing a re-entry, but I would definitely say it will be a week or more still…We are really pleased to see him back out there today.” Getting Olofsson back would bring a much needed scorer back into the lineup. The 24-year-old has 16 goals and 35 points in 42 games before going down with a lower-body injury on Jan. 2.
Minor Transactions: 02/08/20
There are a dozen games on the docket today, with start times spanning over eight hours. The action begins with a pair of matinees featuring Western Conference teams in desperate need of points to stay relevant, the Winnipeg Jets and Arizona Coyotes. The night will be capped off with the Carolina Hurricanes facing the Vegas Golden Knights. If the playoffs started today, Vegas would not only be in but would avoid a wild card berth despite having the 16th-best record in the NHL, while Carolina would be on the outside looking in with the 12th-best record. Every game counts at this time of year, especially as time ticks down on the trade deadline with a number of teams trying to decide if they will be buyers or sellers. Every roster move matters as well, and there should be a number of them given the heavy slate of action this weekend. Keep up with all those transactions right here:
- The Washington Capitals have recalled rookie defenseman Martin Fehervary from the AHL, the team announced. Fehervary is expected to draw into the lineup immediately tonight in place of Nick Jensen. Fehervary, 20, has only played in four games with the Washington Capitals this year but has played meaningful minutes in each appearance. In 45 games with the Hershey Bears this season, Fehervary has 14 points, among the leaders in first-year defensemen in the AHL.
- Following back-to-back games over the past two nights, the Buffalo Sabres are one of just seven teams with Saturday night off. They have used the occasion to reassign youngsters Rasmus Asplund and Lawrence Pilut to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, the team announced. Pilut has been held scoreless through ten games with Buffalo this season but has 22 points in 30 games with Rochester. Asplund has featured more prominently with the Sabres, albeit recording only three points in 29 games, but has eight points in 18 AHL games as well.
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have assigned Ryan Poehling to Laval of the AHL. After recording a hat-trick in his NHL debut last season, he has struggled offensively this season, recording just one goal and one assist in 27 games. Montreal has had several players dealing with the flu in recent days – including Poehling himself – so this move is a sign that some players are starting to get healthier.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned Cody Glass to AHL Chicago per a team release. The rookie last played on January 4th and has been out with a lower-body injury since then. It’s not a conditioning stint but he’ll get a chance to log some big minutes with the Wolves and play in more offensive-oriented situations than he has in Vegas. Through 37 NHL games this season, the 20-year-old has five goals and seven assists.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they have assigned defenseman Dennis Cholowski back to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. The team’s 2016 first-rounder has split his sophomore season between the Red Wings and the Griffins. He has two goals and eight points in 33 games with Detroit, while scoring two goals and seven points in 19 games with the Griffins.
Eastern Notes: Mantha, Johansson, Dobson, Paul
The Detroit Red Wings lost Filip Zadina for two to three weeks, but the team did get a boost of good news as winger Anthony Mantha practiced with the first time since he suffered a mid-body injury on Dec. 21 against Toronto when Jake Muzzin slammed him to the ice, according to NHL.com’s Dana Wakiji. The 25-year-old was wearing an orange no-contact jersey, but it’s step in the right direction for the winger who has appeared in just 29 games this season.
“I’m feeling better,” Mantha said. “Obviously today was the first practice with the team, so it feels good mentally. Physically, I’ve been getting better over the last couple of weeks. I can’t complain.”
Mantha was playing well, posting 12 goals and 24 points in those 29 games and was looking to potentially post career highs, but now will look to help the Red Wings offense, which has struggled for most of the year.
- In his most recent mailbag, the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski writes that the Buffalo Sabres might be interested in taking a long look at 24-year-old prospect goaltender Jonas Johansson, who will be a restricted free agent next year and could be a candidate to replace Carter Hutton next season if he fares well, assuming they can move Hutton. Johansson has played well with the Rochester Americans this year, posting a 2.19 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 20 games. The team might also want to avoid keeping Johansson in Rochester next year, which could block the path when top goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen becomes a full-time AHL goalie.
- When the New York Islanders lost defenseman Adam Pelech for the season due to an Achilles’ tendon injury, many thought that rookie Noah Dobson would be the recipient of the extra minutes that the team lost. Instead, Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that head coach Barry Trotz has relied on his five veteran blueliners and continues to hold Dobson out of key moments in games. Dobson doesn’t play in the third period at all in tight games. The five veterans are forced to take extra shifts in order to replace Dobson, who refers to the situation as five and a half defenders, but doesn’t feel the extra ice time is having a negative effect on the other five defenders.
- Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa Senators forward Nick Paul is skating again and should be able to return at some point this week. The 24-year-old suffered a high ankle sprain on Jan. 7 against the Capitals and deemed to be out for four weeks, which is right on schedule. Paul has six goals and 13 points in 38 games this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Extend Nathan Gerbe
Veteran forward Nathan Gerbe has been more than just a minor league depth piece this season and the Columbus Blue Jackets have decided to reward his effort. The team has announced a new two-year extension with Gerbe, who was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. It is a two-way deal, but just barely, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal carries a $750K AAV at the NHL level and a $500K salary at the AHL level, which Friedman notes will make Gerbe one of the highest paid players in the minors.
Gerbe, 32, is well-respected player in the NHL ranks for his many years of hard-work as an undersized, but effective two-way forward. At just 5’4″, Gerbe is one of the smallest players in the league, but that hasn’t stopped him from contributing in over 400 NHL games. That includes four seasons of 25+ points, two each with the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes earlier in his career. Gerbe left North America in 2016 to play in the Swiss NLA, but ended up returning midway through the 2017-18 season to sign with Columbus. However, until this season he had played in only two games with the Blue Jackets, instead holding a leadership role with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. After another hot start with the Monsters this season, Gerbe was recalled in December and has been a key contributor to the turnaround in Columbus’ season. He has eight points in 16 games, the best per-game pace of his NHL career, and has carved out a distinct role for himself on the team. The Blue Jackets clearly see a continuing need for that role and hope that this extension ensures that the serviceable veteran can continue to help them out.
There’s also the more cynical view of this extension, which is that the signing – at least the term – is largely fueled by the requirements of the impending 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Each team must expose two forwards who have played in either 40 games in 2020-21 or 70 games in 2019-20 and 2020-21 combined and who also are signed into the 2021-22 season. Gerbe looks as if he could fit the bill as an ideal sacrificial lamb. If the veteran plays out the rest of the season in Columbus, he could have upwards of 46 games under his belt and would only need to be used sparingly to hit 70 games total after next season, while his extension keeps him under contract through 2021-22. While it’s impossible to accurately project expansion protection schemes at this point in time, at first glance the Blue Jackets’ lack of numerous long-term contracts up front leaves a relatively ascertainable group of seven forwards they could protect, leaving very little in the way of regular NHLers to be exposed. Gerbe could help to solve that problem. It may not be the only reason he was signed, and to a multi-year deal at that, but it very likely played a role.
Injury Updates: Bjugstad, Wilson, Neal, Wolanin, Motte, Okposo
Prior to their bye week, Penguins winger Nick Bjugstad had been skating on his own and had even traveled with the team on its recent road trip, leading to some speculation that he was nearing a return. However, he hasn’t been skating since then, yet head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that Bjugstad hasn’t suffered a setback but declined to go into further detail. The initial timeline for his return was a minimum of eight weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery. This is week nine since then and even if this is just planned rest and not anything of concern, it certainly seems like Bjugstad is going to be out for a while longer.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- Avalanche winger Colin Wilson has missed nearly three months with a lower-body injury and it doesn’t sound like he’s coming back anytime soon. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports (Twitter link) that it looks doubtful that he will return to play this season. The 30-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and considering that he has only played in nine games in 2019-20, he’ll be hard-pressed to get his current $2.6MM salary on his next deal.
- Oilers winger James Neal was a late scratch on Friday due to a foot injury and is doubtful to play in Saturday’s rematch of the Battle of Alberta against Calgary, notes Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. While his goal production has slipped as of late (he has scored in only one of Edmonton’s last 13 games – though that one game saw him record a hat trick), he still sits third on the team in goals with 19.
- Senators defenseman Christian Wolanin has been cleared for contact as he works his way back from shoulder surgery, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He was injured just before training camp got underway and has yet to play this season. Ottawa plans to assign him to Belleville of the AHL on Wednesday and should make his season debut a week or so after that. With the Sens likely to move a blueliner or two by the trade deadline, there’s a good chance that Wolanin’s AHL time will be limited.
- A difficult season for Vancouver Canucks forward Tyler Motte is only getting worse. The team has announced that Motte, who has already missed 27 games this season with a broken foot, is now set to miss four-to-six weeks with a shoulder injury. When Motte returns in March, he likely will have missed another 15-20 games, meaning more than half of the 2019-20 season will have been lost to injury. Even when the young forward has been healthy, he has recorded just five points in 24 games. It’s been a year to forget for Motte.
- The same can be said for the Buffalo Sabres and forward Kyle Okposo. After being sidelined for ten games earlier this season due to a concussion, head coach Ralph Krueger told the media today that a new upper-body injury is likely to keep Okposo out “weeks”. The veteran forward left Thursday night’s game early and did not return and now it seems a return to the lineup is not imminent. As Buffalo continues to falter after a hot start, Okposo’s twelve points on the year and inability to stay in the lineup are not helping the cause.
Minor Transactions: 01/31/20
Seven games are on tap in the NHL this evening, including a Pennsylvania rivalry and Connor McDavid welcoming in the Stanley Cup champs. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are back in action as well as he looks to pass another great on the all-time leaderboard. Ovechkin sits just a single goal behind Mark Messier for eighth and just seven shy of becoming the newest member of the 700-club. Given his history of 29 goals in 47 games against the Ottawa Senators, another giant could fall later tonight.
- After last night’s win over the Buffalo Sabres, the Montreal Canadiens have decided to send Cale Fleury to the minor leagues. Fleury hasn’t played for Montreal in a few weeks, so he needed to get some games in to continue his development.
- Adding injury to insult, the Buffalo Sabres appear to have lost Kyle Okposo in the game last night. The team recalled Jean-Sebastien Dea today to replace him, though it is not yet clear how serious the injury is.
- Kevin Gravel has been recalled by the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving them another defensive option as they head into a Saturday matchup against the Senators. It is a bit of an interesting move as the team is coming home from a road trip, but perhaps someone is fighting a new injury (Update: After Gravel filled in at practice with Travis Dermott fighting an illness, he has been returned to the minor leagues.)
- Justin Dowling has been placed on injured reserve by the Dallas Stars, while Joel Kiviranta is on his way up to the NHL club. Kiviranta played seven games earlier in the season for Dallas, but has spent most of the season with the Texas Stars of the AHL.