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Minor Transactions: 1/4/2016

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A day after calling up Daniel Altshuller from Charlotte of the AHL, the Carolina Hurricanes have returned the goaltender to the Checkers, according to the team’s official Twitter account. Meanwhile, the club has recalled veteran net minder Michael Leighton from their top minor league affiliate to serve as the team’s back-up between the pipes behind starter Cam Ward.

Altshuller did not see action in last night’s 3 – 1 loss to Carolina and has yet to make his NHL debut. The 22-year-old was selected in the third-round of the 2012 draft, 69th overall, by the Hurricanes and has appeared in 33 contests across the last two seasons with Charlotte, posting a record of 11 – 12 – 5.

Leighton, 35, has seen action in three games with Carolina this season, starting two, and has a 2 – 1 – 0 record with a GAA of 3.53 and a Save % of 0.875. He has appeared in 109 games over parts of 10 NHL seasons, spending time in the Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia and Hurricanes organizations during that time. He famously backstopped the Flyers to a surprising berth in the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Blackhawks in six games.

  • The Florida Panthers have loaned blue liner Dylan McIlrath to the Springfield Thunderbirds on a conditioning assignment, the team announced on their website. McIlrath, a first-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2010, has appeared in four games with the Panthers since joining the team after being acquired from New York in a November trade for fellow defenseman Steven Kampfer and a seventh-round pick in 2018. The hulking defender has tallied a single goal and has 14 penalty minutes on the season, while averaging just 9:39 of ice time per game.
  • Yanni Gourde was reassigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, tweets Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. The 25-year-old pivot made two appearances this season, failing to register a point while seeing about nine minutes of action per night. The Lightning welcomed veteran forward Ryan Callahan back into the lineup last night and his return allowed the team enough roster flexibility to send Gourde to the minors.
  • In a procedural move necessitated by the activation of goaltender Michal Neuvirth from IR, the Philadelphia Flyers have placed blue liner Mark Streit on LTIR, according to CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio. Streit last played on December 11th and is expected to be out until sometime later this month due to a shoulder injury. By placing the veteran defender on LTIR, the Flyers are temporarily able to clear his $5.25MM cap hit from their ledger, thus allowing for the activation of Neuvirth. Had the transaction not been made, Philadelphia would have been over the salary cap by around $682K.

Snapshots: Life After Hockey, Fixing Detroit’s Power Play

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The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc penned an insightful article about the post-hockey adjustments players make when their careers come to an end. For some, the years of abuse on the body take a toll mentally and physically, while for others, the completion of their career is a shock after a lifetime spent in hockey. Kuc profiled several former Blackhawks including Ben Eager, Daniel Carcillo, and Nick Boynton, all of whom have faced a mixture of different struggles after walking away from the sport. Boynton and Carcillo both faced dark thoughts, a combination of their careers ending and also from the damage inflicted after playing “hard nosed” hockey. Concussions, for all three players, certainly played a role in some of the “darkness” that all three players alluded to. All are involved with hockey after their professional careers–Carcillo and Eager both coaching youth hockey while Boynton is a radio analyst for the Arizona Coyotes. Carcillo also is the founder of Chapter 5, an organization designed to help former players transition into life after hockey.

  • The Red Wings, who own the worst power play in hockey, are desperate to try anything–including the idea to give Steve Ott time on the man advantage. MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that the Wings are willing to do whatever it takes to wake their slumbering power play. The Red Wings have not scored a goal on the man advantage since October 19th, a span of 48 opportunities. Ott would replace Riley Sheahan, who has yet to score a goal this season, but the decision to replace the struggling Sheahan with a “grit-first” player in Ott seems counterproductive. Ott, who through 33 games has 4 points (2-2), was not signed for his goal scoring, and has on several occasions this season, taken penalties at inopportune times for Detroit. Ott did say that he realizes he isn’t the “answer.” From Khan:

The reason I would be there is to try to retrieve pucks and get pucks in the hands of players that make plays,” Ott said. “Sacrifice in front of the net, doing anything right now. We need to find ways to generate more momentum.”

Ott worked in with Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar, Anthony Mantha and Niklas Kronwall. The other unit would replace defenseman Brendan Smith with speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou, who would join Gustav Nyquist at the point. Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek would play up front. Meanwhile,  Prashanth Iyer of Winging It In Motown broke down Detroit’s power play zone entry, and how it appears from a quantitative standpoint.

 

Minor Transactions: 1/3/17

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Joining whirlwinded New Jersey Devils winger Reid Boucher on waivers today is St. Louis Blues forward Ty Rattie. The 2011 second-round pick has been trying to carve out a role for himself at the NHL level for years, but to this point has just eight points in 30 games with the Blues over the past four seasons. After finally showing some pro potential with four goals and two assists in 13 games in 2015-16, coupled with the loss of David Backes and Troy Brouwer up front for St. Louis, many expected Rattie would finally take over as a starter in 2016-17. However, halfway though this campaign, Rattie has dressed for just four games, averaging about seven minutes of ice time, and has been held scoreless to boot.

The Blues are hoping to move Rattie through waivers and get him some playing time at the AHL level with the Chicago Wolves. It may not be that simple though. The shine of Rattie’s early draft status may have worn over the last five years, but at this point in the season with injuries piling up and under-performing depth causing frustration, teams are likely to give the two-way right winger some consideration. Rattie had 231 points combined in just two seasons to finish his junior career with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, and has followed that up with three straight 40+ point AHL seasons to begin his pro career. It’ s no question that Rattie (4 NHL games, 3 AHL games) desperately needs some play time this season, but if a team can commit to letting him see the ice, they may just find that he rekindles his scoring touch. Insiders from the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Boston Bruins have already speculated that their teams may be interested.

In other minor transactions:

  • Rather than dress an equipment manager again, the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled goalie Daniel Altshuller from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL to serve as the backup to Cam Ward while Eddie Lack remains sidelined. Altshuller, a 2012 third-round pick, has been called up to the NHL level before, but has yet to make his debut. Since turning pro, Altshuller has spent time in both the AHL and ECHL. While his ECHL numbers have been impressive, he has yet to perform at the AHL level. So far in 2016-17, Altshuller has an .884 SV% and 3.44 GAA when playing with the Checkers. Those uninspiring numbers indicate that that Altshuller is unlikely to make his first NHL appearance this time around. His call-up is likely just as much about having a body on the bench as signing the equipment manager was. However, 2014 second rounder Alex Nedeljkovic has been even worse than Altshuller this year, and veteran Michael Leighton has been far from reliable in his few appearances for the ’Canes. If Lack remains out, Altshuller may be forced into service to relieve the overworked Ward.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have demoted forward Tyler Motte to the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. Motte was expected to step in and be an impact rookie this season, but has fallen short of those expectations. He has played in 33 games for the Hawks, but has just seven points in one of the league’s most prolific offenses. Chicago hopes that a trip to the minors helps Motte to rediscover the instincts that excited fans this preseason and made him nearly a goal-per-game player at the University of Michigan last year. For now, Spencer Abbott has been recalled to replace Motte. The former UMaine star currently leads the Ice Hogs in points this season.
  • The Minnesota Wild have brought forward Kurtis Gabriel back into the fold, after sending him down to the Iowa Wild of the AHL last week. Gabriel is a cut-and-dry energy line player, but brings a welcome tenacity and checking ability to the Minnesota lineup.
  • Chris Wagner is headed back to the Anaheim Ducks yet again. The veteran forward has been shuffled between the Ducks and the AHL’s San Diego Gulls all season, with a move seemingly every week. With Ryan Getzlaf expected to be out for a game or two, Wagner will draw into the lineup. He has two goals in 21 games with the team this season.
  • The New York Ranger have recalled winger Nicklas Jensen from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. The young Danish forward was set to take a starting job with the Rangers this season, but was pushed out by free agent depth additions. Jensen has played in four games in New York this season, but has been held scoreless. Jensen showed flashes of a bright future when he was in Vancouver, but has been used sparingly since arriving in the Big Apple.

Blackhawks Notes: Kruger, Hossa, Winter Classic

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After leaving the ice in a hurry on Friday night, Marcus Kruger won’t be returning for the Chicago Blackhawks any time soon. According to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times, the team will be without their defensive center for at least three weeks. An ’upper-body injury’ is all we know about what ails Kruger, who has been the Hawks shutdown defender for the last few seasons.

While he’s not by any means an offensive dynamo, Kruger is responsible defensively and is a solid faceoff man (although with Jonathan Toews, the Hawks don’t have any problems in that area). As head coach Joel Quenneville admits, “That’s a big loss for us.”

  • At least it’s not all terrible news on the injury front, as Marian Hossa skated on Sunday morning and has a chance to play on Thursday against Buffalo. Hossa has been out for the last four games and will miss the Winter Classic tomorrow against the St. Louis Blues. The Blackhawks retain the lead in the Central Division even after the 12-game win streak by Minnesota. They have, however already played 39 games, the most in the league and three more than the Wild.
  • Today at the Centennial Classic in Toronto, the teams had to wait as weather (sun, as it happens) delayed the start of the game. It looks like there might be a similar situation in St. Louis, where the forecast calls for rain all afternoon on Monday. With the team not knowing when the start time will be, they began making jokes about what they’ll do during the wait. “I don’t know. Batting cages, maybe?” said Corey Crawford to Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago.

Snapshots: Pronger, Liljegren, Leafs Alumni

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The St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks will play in the Winter Classic this Monday, meaning the weekend is designed around events like the Alumni game. With so many greats (including Wayne Gretzky and Martin Brodeur) suiting up for the Blues, former captain Chris Pronger took over their Twitter page to answer some fan questions.

On best and worst players to play against:

Worst player to play against was always the short ones. Favorite was Keith Tkachuk – I always owned him.

Who had the hardest check in the league:

Pound-for-pound, Dallas Drake probably hit the hardest. Scott Stevens in open ice. Rob Blake with his butt checks.

There are a dozen other amusing answers, as Pronger signed off each tweet with #loveforluca, a campaign that will donate $200 for every goal the Blues score towards a 7-year old’s battle with leukemia. It also has a GoFundMe page that is looking to raise $100,000 for the child’s medical expenses.

  • According to Swedish newspaper Kvallsposten, Timothy Liljegren, the expected #2 overall pick in this summer’s draft, may soon be on the move to a new team. After missing time with an illness recently, the paper reports that he didn’t play at all yesterday against Karlskrona. The rumored landing spot is Timra, a team in the lower level Allsvenskan. Basically, this would be like a youngster on a bad NHL team going to the AHL to try and win a Calder Cup. Liljegren would get more icetime and responsibility for Timra.
  • In Toronto, the Maple Leafs took to the ice to practice at BMO Field today in preparation for their Centennial Classic tomorrow against the Red Wings. When they got back into the dressing room, they were shocked to find out that they’d be sharing it with the alumni roster for today’s game. With Mitch Marner seated beside Doug Gilmour, Auston Matthews beside Wendel Clark and Morgan Rielly sidled up beside Borje Salming, it was a symbolic passing of the torch from the old legends to the new. Marner, a Toronto native, couldn’t contain his excitement, and took a stick around the room for an autograph session. The alumni game starts at 11am.

Chicago’s Pending Cap Crunch

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There is one offseason event that quickly becoming an annual rite of passage, the Chicago Blackhawks and their efforts to stay under the salary cap.  For the last few offseasons, Chicago has been forced to trade several quality players in order to keep the core of their Stanley Cup contending (or winning, depending on the year) team together.

Some recent cap casualties include forwards Michael Frolik and Dave Bolland (2013), defenseman Nick Leddy (2014), wingers Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad, and Kris Versteeg (2015), and, most recently, winger Teuvo Teravainen being included as a sweetener to get rid of winger Bryan Bickell’s contract this past summer while Andrew Shaw was dealt to Montreal.

"DecWe’re still in December but it’s safe to say that GM Stan Bowman will be doing the ‘cap dance’ again this offseason if not sooner.

The re-signing of left winger Artemi Panarin to a two year, $12MM contract will allow the Blackhawks to keep one of the top scorers in the league in the fold but in doing so, have increased their payroll commitments for next season to quite a high amount with still a lot of roster spots to be filled.  Here’s a look at their committed contracts for next year, according to CapFriendly:

Forwards (9):
Patrick Kane – $10.5MM
Jonathan Toews – $10.5MM
Artemi Panarin – $6MM
Marian Hossa – $5.275MM
Artem Anisimov – $4.55MM
Marcus Kruger: $3.083MM
Tyler Motte: $925K
Ryan Hartman: $863K
Vinnie Hinostroza: $718K

Defensemen (5):
Brent Seabrook – $6.875MM
Duncan Keith – $5.54MM
Niklas Hjalmarsson – $4.1MM
Gustav Forsling – $873K
Trevor van Riemsdyk – $825K

Goaltenders (1):
Corey Crawford – $6MM

Combined, they have over $66MM committed for only 15 players.  That amount also doesn’t include what could a considerably high bonus overage (over $3MM if Panarin joins Brian Campbell in hitting his bonuses while other rookies could hit some as well).  Add to that the fact that the minimum salary is jumping up by $75K to $650K next year and it’s clear that Bowman has some work to do.

Many are speculating that Kruger is a near-lock to be moved at some point, either via trade or the expansion draft in June.  His contract isn’t particularly onerous given what he brings to the table but considering Chicago has been cutting out the mid-tier players to keep their pricey ones, he’s the first logical domino to fall.

If the salary cap doesn’t increase much from the current $73MM as is expected to be the case, moving out his salary may not be enough though which would make it much more likely that Bowman would have to tinker with his core.  There are plenty of opinions on who would be the best fit to go in that situation but none of them are particularly ideal.

There’s no immediate rush for this to be dealt with as Chicago has until the start of next season to be in cap compliance, giving them more than nine months to work with.  But it will undoubtedly be in the back of Bowman’s mind as he starts to map out his plan for next year as well as the remainder of this season as the conference-leading Blackhawks look to make another long playoff push.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reactions To The Artemi Panarin Signing

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While many expected that Artemi Panarin would land a new contract between $6MM-$7MM, the fact that he only got two years was a bit of a surprise.  Speaking with Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune, Panarin’s agent, Tom Lynn, noted that Panarin was willing to take a small discount to stay on a short-term deal but wasn’t willing to on a long-term pact:

“We both, in a friendly way, recognized a long-term deal wasn’t feasible (and) not only moneywise. He’s two years away from getting no movement clauses. … that wasn’t feasible to give up unrestricted years on a discounted deal. At the same time neither side was into a one-year deal, just putting off the same conversation (until next year).”

Talks between the Blackhawks and Panarin had been ongoing since the summer; he had been eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st.

Hine suggests that center Marcus Kruger (with a cap hit of just under $3.1MM) could become one of the cap casualties and that he’s a prime candidate to be left unprotected in the upcoming Las Vegas expansion draft.  He also notes that Rob Scuderi’s retained cap hit of just over $1.1MM will be off the books next season but that may still not be enough to squeeze in Panarin’s $6MM cap hit beginning next year.

More notes on the deal:

  • USA Today’s Kevin Allen argues that the signing is a compromise in which neither side is happy but both sides are pleased with. While it’s not the long-term signing that both sides would have liked to get done, it at least gets him locked in for two more years alongside Patrick Kane as one of the most dynamic duos in the league and buys GM Stan Bowman more time to find a way to make room for him as a long-term fixture in a couple of years.  Finding a way to fit him in on UFA money could be a challenge though as Allen suggests that Panarin could be worth upwards of $9MM when he hits the open market in the summer of 2019.
  • One of the keys towards being able to fit in Panarin on his next deal will be the state of the Canadian dollar, writes Mark Lazarus of the Chicago Sun-Times. It has been trending downwards in recent years which has played a big role in the cap largely stagnating.
  • While the smaller than anticipated cap hit provides a sliver of optimism that Bowman may be able to keep the entire core intact, it’s still an unlikely proposition, suggests Charlie Roumeliotis of CSN Chicago. Instead, it’s likely that they will have to further rely on young players on their entry-level deals to round out the roster such as defenseman Ville Pokka or winger Alex DeBrincat, who was a second round pick of the Blackhawks back in June.

Brian Campbell To Play In Chicago Or Retire Next Season

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Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell hasn’t yet decided if he wants to play next season but if he does, it would only be with the Blackhawks, he told John Dietz of the Daily Herald:

“I don’t want to go anywhere else. One hundred percent. … I even mentioned to (general manager) Stan (Bowman) last summer — it would be a case of I’d like to come back here and I don’t see myself going anywhere (else). If I can keep playing and you still want me here, then I don’t plan on going anywhere else.”

This past summer, Campbell declined a sizable offer from Florida believed to be two years and a total of $8MM to take a one year deal worth a guaranteed $1.5MM from Chicago, plus another potential $750K in games played bonuses which he met when he played his tenth game of the season.  That said, he noted that money will still play a role in his decision for next season:

“…Money obviously plays a part in everything because you’ve got to want to get up and do your job every day and do it to the highest of your ability.

I’ve always said if it was for a lot less (than $2.25 million), I don’t think I would have made the sacrifice to come back here. … That’s where the money aspect comes in. You’ve got to get up and want to do it for what you’re being paid.”

Campbell’s numbers are down considerably this year as he has been asked to take on a lot less of a load than he had with the Panthers.  He has played in all 37 games this season (but may be scratched tonight, snapping a 423 game ironman streak, reports Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times), recording ten points (3-7-10).  However, his average ice time (18:59) is down more than three minutes per night compared to last season as he has settled into a role on the second pairing.

Finding a way to fit Campbell into Chicago’s payroll next season could be quite the challenge though, especially if he’s hoping for a contract somewhat close to the one he has right now.  Following the extension for Artemi Panarin, the Blackhawks already have over $66MM committed to just 15 players for next season, per CapFriendly.  That amount could increase depending on what their bonus overage is for this year as well.  Suffice it to say, if Campbell does decide to return for next season, he and Bowman may have a tough time finding a number that fits for both sides.

Blackhawks Officially Announce Panarin Extension

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The Chicago Blackhawks officially confirmed left winger Artemi Panarin’s two-year extension on Thursday morning.

While the club did not reveal any of the financial details regarding the new contract, we reported on Wednesday that several hockey insiders, including Bob McKenzie, Elliotte Friedman, and Scott Powers, have all pegged the value at $6MM per season with a little more than half coming in the form of signing bonuses.

The 25-year-old Panarin is in his second season with the Blackhawks after playing the previous seven seasons in the KHL. He scored 77 points in 80 games as a rookie playing alongside Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov, winning the Calder Trophy. Panarin and Kane showed especially strong chemistry, as Kane hit a career-high 110 points last season.

Panarin is the Blackhawks leading scorer so far this season, with 37 points in 37 games. That’s good for fifth in the NHL, behind only Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Panarin is the final season of his two-year entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of just $925K.  Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, he has over $2.5MM of potential bonuses. He’s currently on pace to max out those bonuses for the second straight year. That represented a major part of Chicago’s cap overage of more than $3MM this season. Panarin is one of six players on the Blackhawks who have performance bonuses in their contract, adding up to a possible total of over $4.4MM which could be added to their cap. They currently have just over $427K in cap space.

With Panarin’s extension signed, GM Stan Bowman will once again have to get creative this summer to keep the band together in Chicago.

Blackhawks Agree To Terms On Contract Extension With Artemi Panarin

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The Chicago Blackhawks and left winger Artemi Panarin have agreed to terms on a contract extension, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic.  The scribe notes that the deal was finalized earlier today and is expected to be announced on Thursday morning.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that it’s a two year deal with a cap hit of $6MM.  He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the contract while TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds via Twitter that more than half of the money in the deal will be in the form of a signing bonus.

Panarin, last year’s Calder Trophy winner for Rookie of the Year, is Chicago’s leading scorer this season with 37 points (15-22-37) in 37 games and sits fifth in scoring league-wide.  He’s in his second year with Chicago and recently became only the 27th player in NHL history to record his first 100 points in 110 games.

Panarin is in the second and final season of his entry level contract that carries a cap hit (before bonuses) of just $925K.  However, he has over $2.5MM of potential Schedule A and B bonuses that he maxed out on last season, which helped contribute to Chicago’s bonus overage this year that’s greater than $3MM.  If he continues his current pace, he’ll likely max out of them again which will result in another overage for the Blackhawks next season given that the team is quite tight to the salary cap and already have a $750K bonus achieved by defenseman Brian Campbell.

Fitting in this contract may be a challenge for Chicago next year as they already have over $60MM committed in payroll, per CapFriendly before factoring in Panarin.  It has been speculated that if they were to get him signed, they would have to move one of their core players in order to stay under the cap for next season.  With the deal now done, GM Stan Bowman now knows exactly how much space he’ll have to try to free up between now and next October.

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