Morning Notes: Trade Bait, Lindgren, Frolik
As we head into the middle of January, trade winds around the league are starting to blow. Teams are beginning to understand where exactly they fit into the league power structure and making decision on who to keep and who to sell. With that, Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) broke down 27 players he believes could be on the market, including Chris Kreider who tops the list as the “top rental forward available.”
Custance suggests that Kreider could bring back a similar package to the one Kevin Hayes was traded for last season, which brought a first-round pick, Brendan Lemieux and a conditional fourth. The second name on his board, Tyler Toffoli, comes with a much more reasonable price tag. In all, the list includes several obvious names and many more that may come as a surprise.
- Ryan Lindgren had to face the music after laying a huge hit on Colorado Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi last night, as Nazem Kadri confronted him and decided to punch him in the face a few times. The New York Rangers defenseman left the game and will get some insult added to that injury, as he has a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today and is likely looking at a suspension.
- Michael Frolik has joined the Buffalo Sabres after dealing with his immigration issues, and is expected to practice with the group today. The newly acquired forward will likely be asked to step into an important role right away given the team’s scoring struggles this season and Victor Olofsson‘s recent injury. Jeff Skinner, who was signed to an eight-year, $72MM contract in June has just 11 goals and 19 points in 39 games.
Minor Transactions: 01/07/20
It’s another busy Tuesday in the NHL with 12 games on the schedule, including the Nashville Predators playing without Peter Laviolette behind the bench for the first time in years. The Predators have yet to announce who will be coaching them tonight, but they’ll have to take on the tough Boston Bruins no matter who it is. As they and the rest of the league prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled Kaapo Kahkonen from the minor leagues under emergency conditions. The team doesn’t play until Thursday, meaning it won’t be clear just yet who will be in net for the team when they take on the Calgary Flames. The Wild have also recalled veteran defenseman Matt Bartkowski from AHL Iowa. Bartkowski has yet to log any NHL minutes this season after playing in a pair of games with Minnesota last season and over 250 games total in his ten-year pro career.
- After trading away one of their defensemen, the Buffalo Sabres are giving a young player another chance. Lawrence Pilut has been recalled, once again giving the team eight defensemen even after they traded Marco Scandella away.
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Kiefer Sherwood back to the minor leagues after just two days in the NHL. The 24-year old forward has 14 points in 18 games for the San Diego Gulls, but hasn’t entered an NHL game yet this season.
- Kale Clague has been sent back to the minor leagues after Derek Forbort made his return to the lineup last night. Forbort played just 14:25 in his first game of the season, but will likely take on a bigger role moving forward.
Minor Transactions: 01/06/20
Another week starts in the NHL with four games on the schedule, including the expected debut of Ilya Kovalchuk with the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal will take on the Winnipeg Jets, who Kovalchuk never played for yet holds many all-time records. Those records of course were set when he was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers before the organization relocated, the real prime of Kovalchuk’s career. As the teams in action tonight prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Andrew Agozzino while sending Thomas Di Pauli to the minor leagues. Di Pauli made his NHL debut just a few days ago, but will now have to return to the AHL and wait for his next opportunity.
- Niko Mikkola is on his way back to the NHL from the San Antonio Rampage, flipped for Jake Walman by the St. Lous Blues. Walman made his debut on Saturday night and played just over 11 minutes, but will be replaced by Mikkola who is still hoping to get into an NHL lineup for the first time. The Blues play the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night and will try to get back on track after three consecutive losses.
- Steven Kampfer has been recalled by the Boston Bruins to serve as an extra defenseman as they head on the road. The Bruins will play the Nashville Predators tomorrow, trying to crack their own three-game losing streak and stay above the pushing Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Dalton Smith has been sent back to the AHL after just 86 seconds of NHL ice time. The veteran minor league forward was given a contract with the Sabres recently but he’ll have to head back to the Rochester Americans for the time being.
- Joel Kiviranta is back with the Dallas Stars after a short trip to the AHL. The 23-year old forward has already been involved in three transactions since the start of the year, moving up and down between the two leagues.
Dalton Smith Clears Waivers
Friday: Smith has cleared waivers, but was still at practice with the Sabres today.
Thursday: After 86 seconds of ice time and two penalty minutes, Dalton Smith has been placed on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Buffalo Sabres forward earned himself an NHL contract recently and played in one game for the team, but could now be on his way back to the minor leagues.
Smith, 27, was actually selected 34th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010 but failed to bring any sort of offensive game to the professional level. The physical forward has 54 points in 340 career AHL regular season contests, but still earned a deal with the Sabres and a chance to finally make his NHL debut.
Though he didn’t play much, Smith was an obvious message to other players including Evan Rodrigues, who was made a healthy scratch and asked for a trade out of the organization.
There is almost no chance that Smith gets claimed at this point, given he didn’t even have an NHL contract at this point last week. He will be a recall option for Ralph Krueger and Jason Botterill down the road however, if they ever need a little extra toughness in the lineup.
Victor Olofsson Out Five To Six Weeks
The Buffalo Sabres will have to hope Michael Frolik adds some immediate offense, as Victor Olofsson will be out for the next five to six weeks after suffering a lower-body injury.
For a team like Buffalo who has plummeted in the standings after a strong start and can’t seem to score goals on a regular basis, losing a young sniper is a tough pill to swallow. The team ranks 19th in the league in goals for, not nearly good enough to compete in the high-flying Atlantic Division. Olofsson has 16 of those goals, good for second on the team behind Jack Eichel, and has been the team’s primary shooter on the powerplay.
It’s clear Frolik will help this team, but the Sabres are still after more improvements up front after yesterday’s deals. The question will be who else they move from the blueline to accommodate it, as the swaps didn’t end up in any additional cap space.
Olofsson’s timeline puts him returning in the middle of February, with time to spare before this year’s deadline. Hopefully everything in his recovery goes according to plan and he will feel like an addition for the stretch run.
Minor Transactions: 01/03/19
Just two games are on the schedule for today before a busy weekend in the NHL, meaning teams have time to assess their roster and make any changes needed. Even though there isn’t a ton of action, there are still some storylines to keep an eye on. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will be heading to Carolina to take on Andrei Svechnikov and the Hurricanes in a battle of two Metropolitan playoff hopefuls. We’ll keep track of all the minor moves as those teams and others get ready:
- The Ottawa Senators have returned Erik Brannstrom to the minor leagues after acquiring Mike Reilly yesterday. Brannstrom obviously still needs some time to polish out his two-way game, even if he has flashed glimpses of the top-pairing potential he possesses.
- With Victor Olofsson injured last night, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Scott Wilson from the minor leagues. There’s no word on the extent of the injury just yet, but the team is making moves to secure some NHL depth.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Justin Scott to the AHL, perhaps a sign that someone will be coming back for them before long. The Blue Jackets’ injury list is longer than their roster at the moment, but they’ve still won two in a row.
- Nick Seeler is heading to the minor leagues on a conditioning loan, to get in some game action and stay fresh for the Minnesota Wild. The 26-year old has played in just six games this season and would be a difficult name to call as a replacement right now.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Casey DeSmith to serve as backup for a game, as they let Tristan Jarry rest and get ready for his next appearance. Jarry has performed incredibly this season for the Penguins, but is already approaching the most NHL starts he’s ever had in a single year. He’ll prepare to play the earlier start on Sunday. The team has also recalled Thomas Di Pauli.
- The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned a trio of players to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Chris Wideman, Daniel Sprong, and Sam Carrick will all head back to the minors. Wideman was only recalled yesterday – his first call-up of the season – and Sprong on Monday, making it a quick stint for both.
- Steven Kampfer cleared waivers back in early December but has still spent much of the past month in Boston. Yet, as the Bruins get healthy, Kampfer now heads back to AHL Providence, per insider Mark Divver. Kampfer will serve the second game of a two-game AHL suspension tonight, Divver adds.
Buffalo Sabres Trade Marco Scandella, Acquire Michael Frolik
After trading away Mike Reilly, the Montreal Canadiens have gone out and found themselves a different defenseman. The Canadiens have acquired Marco Scandella from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for San Jose’s 2020 fourth-round pick. The Sabres then flipped that pick to acquire Michael Frolik from the Calgary Flames. No salary was retained in either transaction.
All season the Sabres had been looking to move one of their surplus defenseman to free up some cap space, and Scandella was essentially replaceable even if he was playing well of late. Buffalo has several other capable NHL defensemen, including some sitting in the minor leagues waiting for their opportunity. By moving the 29-year old Scandella and his $4MM cap hit out, they freed up enough room to bring in another forward that can help Jack Eichel create some offense.
Frolik, 31, comes to the Sabres after being the subject of many trade rumors over the last few years. There were times when it seemed he had completely run out of patience with the Flames organization, and times where they seemed to feel the same about him. Still, he continued playing for them and recorded 16 goals and 34 points in 65 games last season while providing solid penalty killing ability whenever asked. This season has brought ten points in 38 games, but given his average of fewer than 12 minutes a night it would have been difficult to provide much more offense.
In Buffalo, he’ll surely get a chance to be more of a contributor on that side of the puck. A Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, Frolik has actually been a relatively consistent goal-scorer the last several years, recording double digit totals in each of the last six seasons. If the Sabres want to make the playoffs this season they absolutely needed to add more scoring punch up front.
For Montreal, a team that may now be overlooked in this busy night, swapping Reilly for Scandella provides an upgrade in experience and defensive capability. While the young defenseman may be more mobile and at one point provided a little more offensive upside, Scandella is nearing 600 games played at the NHL level and should help their group find a little more balance.
The Canadiens have been relying heavily on their top three names this year with Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot all logging more than 23 minutes a night, but will hope that Scandella can take some of that load off their shoulders. The Montreal native also has a ton of experience on the penalty kill, where the Canadiens currently rank 25th in the NHL.
Scandella is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, meaning their overall moves have also removed an NHL contract from the books for next season when they are expecting prospects like Alexander Romanov to compete for spots.
Calgary also changes tonight, opening up some room of their own by ridding themselves of Frolik’s $4.3MM cap hit. That gives the Flames some extra flexibility of their own as they try to claw their way back into the Pacific Division race. The Flames will be a team to watch moving forward as they try to right the ship.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Evan Rodrigues Looking For Fresh Start
Earlier this month a report surfaced that Zach Bogosian, who was about to be a healthy scratch for the Buffalo Sabres, had requested a trade. Now, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Evan Rodrigues has also “made his interests in a trade known.” Joe Yerdon of The Athletic tweets that Rodrigues “does not see a future with the organization.”
The 26-year old forward has played fewer than nine minutes in three of his past four games, including just 8:34 on Sunday against the Boston Bruins.
Rodrigues is expected to be a healthy scratch (along with Bogosian and Colin Miller) tonight for the Sabres, while newly signed Dalton Smith is expected to make his NHL debut.
It’s been a rough season for Rodrigues, who was awarded a one-year $2MM contract through arbitration in the summer. That was because of his previous two years, where he provided the Sabres with 54 points in 122 games, looking like a useful middle-six piece. That usefulness has basically completely disappeared under new head coach Ralph Krueger, as Rodrigues has zero goals and three points in 24 games this season. Part of that is due to his drastically reduced ice time, but it’s hard to imagine a team running out to land a $2MM forward with such low production at this point.
Just like Bogosian, Rodrigues will likely not bring back anything of value for the Sabres at this point. He could get his wish at the end of the year though, as he’ll be a restricted free agent once again and would need a $2MM qualifying offer for the Sabres to retain his rights.
Metropolitan Notes: New Jersey, Andersson, Fines
The New Jersey Devils have played better under new head coach Alain Nasreddine, going 5-6-2 after today’s shootout win against the Boston Bruins. Even if the playoffs are an unlikely goal at this point, they may still be looking at upgrades on the trade market. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that he believes New Jersey is “considering” some of the excess defensemen that the Buffalo Sabres have been trying to trade.
Rasmus Ristolainen, Marco Scandella and Zach Bogosian are the names that have been speculated on most over the last few months, though it’s not clear exactly who the Devils would be after. The Sabres have eight legitimate NHL options, not even including names like Lawrence Pilut and John Gilmour who are currently in the minor leagues.
- Friedman also writes that New York Rangers prospect Lias Andersson is back in Sweden again after recent reports that he was in North America after the holidays. The young forward left the Hartford Wolf Pack earlier this month and was subsequently suspended, after requesting a trade out of the organization. Friedman suggests that the Rangers are treating Andersson just like the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars with their own discontented players, still valuing them as “young former first-rounders”—whatever that exactly means—in trade talks.
- Evgeni Malkin earned himself a $5,000 fine for high-sticking Jean-Gabriel Pageau last night, not the first time he’s been disciplined for hitting someone in the head/neck area with his stick. Pageau earned his own $2,500 fine for roughing during the incident.
NHL All-Star Selections Announced
Although it took some time, with each individual team rolling out their own selections, the final rosters for All-Star Weekend have come into focus. Below are each of the four divisional team, set to face off in the Skills Competition on Friday, January 24th and the All-Star Game on Saturday, January 25th:
Atlantic Division
G Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
F Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
F Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (C)
Metropolitan Division
G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
F Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
F Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
Central Division
G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (C)
F Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild
Pacific Division
G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
G Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes
D Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Additionally, each divisional squad will have one more addition as decided by the Last Men In fan vote. Voting opens on January 1st and closes on the 10th. Here are the candidates:
Atlantic Division – Patrice Bergeron, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Larkin Aleksander Barkov, Max Domi, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner
Metropolitan Division – Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson, Mika Zibanejad, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, T.J. Oshie
Central Division – Jonathan Toews, Cale Makar, Jamie Benn, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, David Perron Patrik Laine
Pacific Division – Ryan Getzlaf, Clayton Keller, Johnny Gaudreau, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drew Doughty, Tomas Hertl, Quinn Hughes, Max Pacioretty