Minor Transactions: 1/11/2017
There has been a flurry of roster transactions so far today with several players recalled from or reassigned to the minor leagues. We’ll keep track of those moves in this post:
- According to Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register, the Anaheim Ducks recalled forward Stefan Noesen and blue liner Shea Theodore from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. In a corresponding move, defenseman Brandon Montour was reassigned to the Gulls. Montour made his NHL debut after initially being recalled on December 28th though he failed to register a point in five appearances. Noesen has one goal on the campaign in seven games while Theodore has a goal and five assists in 21 contests this season for Anaheim.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News tweeted this morning that Jamie Oleksiak is dealing with a hand injury and will likely be “out for a bit.” He goes on to say that fellow defenseman Stephen Johns will take Oleksiak’s spot in the lineup for tomorrow’s game at home against Detroit. With eight defensemen on the roster – Patrik Nemeth is currently playing for the AHL Texas Stars on a conditioning assignment though remains on Dallas’ official roster – no call-up is expected to be made. In a later tweet, Heika adds that with Texas playing at home, Stars head coach Lindy Ruff would easily be able to bring Nemeth back from his assignment if necessary.
- After adding forward Derek Grant via waiver claim from Buffalo today, the Nashville Predators reassigned fellow forward Frederick Gaudreau to Milwaukee of the AHL, according to The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan. The 23-year-old rookie has made nine appearances for Nashville this season, the first NHL action of Gaudreau’s career, and has tallied a single assist. In 24 contests with the Milwaukee Admirals, Gaudreau has netted five goals and 14 points. Vingan speculated that Gaudreau’s reassignment might indicate that either James Neal or Colin Wilson could be ready to return to the lineup. Neal was placed on IR retroactive to 1/3 and is currently eligible to be activated. Wilson last played on 1/6.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled blue liner David Warsofsky from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while reassigning net minder Tristan Jarry to the Baby Pens. Jason Mackey, who covers the club for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reported on the moves and added that with Jarry back to the minors, Matt Murray should be ready to at least serve as Marc-Andre Fleury‘s back-up for tonight’s game against Washington.
- Defenseman Slater Koekkoek and goalie Kristers Gudlevskis were both returned to the AHL Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay’s top minor league affiliate, tweets Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Koekkoek’s assignment might seem odd on the surface as the blue liner had appeared in 12 of the last 13 Lightning games. But, as Smith points out, Koekkoek does not need to clear waivers to be sent to the minors while fellow defenders Luke Witkowski and Nikita Nesterov do.
- The Washington Capitals announced they have sent forwards Paul Carey and Liam O’Brien to Hershey of the AHL, according to the team’s official Twitter account. The assignments leave the team with just 12 forwards on the active roster, a fact that suggests T.J. Oshie will be back in the Caps lineup tonight. That was later confirmed by Capitals head coach Barry Trotz.
- Two days after sending the fourth overall selection in the June entry draft, Jesse Puljujarvi, to Bakersfield the Edmonton Oilers have assigned fellow forward Anton Lander to the same club. Called up from the Condors was forward Jujhar Khaira, who has eight goals and 18 points in 24 AHL games this season.
Western Conference Notes: Stars, Red Wings, Labanc, Toews, Seabrook
A year after riding the league’s most prolific offense to a Central Division title, the Dallas Stars have been beset by injuries and currently sit on the outside looking in at a postseason berth. Obviously the absences of key players like Ales Hemsky, Patrick Sharp, Jiri Hudler, Mattias Janmark and Cody Eakin for parts – or in the case of Janmark, all – of the season has played a role. However, Mike Heika addressed another possible factor for the team’s on-ice struggles in a recent mailbag feature.
When asked what trade he would make if he were the GM to improve the Stars, Heika suggested making a relatively minor deal sending blue liner Patrik Nemeth to Detroit for a goalie prospect. While on the surface it’s difficult to envision a trade of this nature having much of an impact on the ice for either team, Heika reasons that moving one of the eight defensemen on the roster would “alleviate the pressure of eight defensemen for the players and the coaching staff and that could immediately make a player such as Jamie Oleksiak better.”
Ordinarily having quality depth is considered a good thing but perhaps not when it comes to the Stars blue line. As Heika suggests, carrying seven blue liners may allow head coach Lindy Ruff to more easily identify consistent defense pairings.
While this does not qualify as an actual trade rumor, Heika’s hypothetical deal does provide a look at what the Stars brass may actually consider at some point. The team does have solid depth on the back end and with neither Antti Niemi nor Kari Lehtonen performing well between the pipes for Dallas, the Stars could certainly find themselves in the market for a young goaltender-of-the-future.
- Highly-regarded rookie Kevin Labanc isn’t exactly lighting up the league with just three goals and five points in the first 14 games of his NHL career. But after going scoreless in his first four, the 20-year-old winger – 21 on December 12th – has been more productive of late with all of his points coming in the last 10 contests. As Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes, the mini outburst from Labanc has already helped the youngster leapfrog veteran forwards Joonas Donskoi, Joe Thornton and Mikkel Boedker in the goal-scoring department. As Kurz notes, Labanc’s contributions have likely earned him a regular role on the Sharks for the balance of 2016-17.
- Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune provides an update on the status of Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook. Toews has missed the past eight contests with a back problem while Seabrook missed his first game of the season with an upper-body-injury. Hawks bench boss Joel Quennville has already said that before returning to the lineup, both players will need to skate with the team. To this point, neither player has been able to do so, though Seabrook’s injury is a recent development. The injury to Toews has to be of great concern to the Blackhawks. There is no timetable for a return and back injuries can be problematic, leading to the possibility Chicago’s top pivot could be odd for a while yet.
Snapshots: Uncertainty in Dallas, Hanzal
The Dallas Stars are in a precarious position due to a number of factors writes Mike Heika. Besieged by injury, and seemingly in some form of hockey purgatory, Heika begins his column with prose:
The Stars are neither fish nor fowl.
They are not fast, yet they are not slow.
They are not young, yet they are not old.
They are not tough, yet they are not weak.
The Stars have been an enigma this season, expected to build on last year’s successes while bringing along a lot of the young, speedy talent that seemed ready to carry the team. Instead, Heika writes that the injuries to Mattias Janmark and Ales Hemsky altered the plan to include bigger, and albeit slower, forwards. Additionally, a more veteran blue line gave way for youth, which includes a learning curve as it acclimates to NHL talent.
Heika adds that with the uncertainty of the youth delivering, comes the unknowns associated with the 2017 offseason where a number of unrestricted free agents are set to be re-signed or hit the market. Those names include Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, Johnny Oduya, Adam Cracknell and Hemsky. Throw in what many analysts observe as a “shaky” goaltending tandem in Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen, and Heika indicates there’s yet another aspect of the team that may see change. Finally, head coach Lindy Ruff is in the final year of his contract.
What does it all mean? The Stars are a team in “no man’s land” according to Heika. Ruff put the team through a tough practice and indicated that the way through the inconsistency was to keep working. Heika is convinced it’s the one way that Dallas can determine what they’re truly made of.
In other Western Conference news:
- Montreal needs help up front and Arizona’s Martin Hanzal may be just the the man to solve their problems writes Navin Vaswani. The 29-year-old could be had for a young NHL ready forward and Vaswani believes Phillip Danault could do the trick. But Vaswani adds that Marc Bergevin isn’t forced to make a trade at all. Pierre LeBrun tweets that he isn’t sure if the Habs’ interest in Hanzal has spiked since the injuries to Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais. What he does indicate, is that regardless of what decision they make, injuries are part of the game and the Habs–whether they make a deal or not–must find a way to survive the injuries. LeBrun also adds that Arizona may still make a run at re-signing Hanzal.
Stars Place Patrick Sharp On IR
The Dallas Stars, who have battled injuries to key contributors throughout the 206-17 campaign, lost Patrick Sharp for the second time this season. The club announced today, via their official Twitter account, that they have placed the 34-year-old winger on IR retroactive to December first.
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News adds the Stars head coach Lindy Ruff has said that Sharp is back in the concussion protocol. Sharp missed a month earlier this season with the initial head injury. In 11 games this year, Sharp has tallied just a single goal and two points while averaging better than 16:30 of ice time per game.
Now in his 14th NHL season, Sharp has netted 270 goals and 583 points in 832 NHL games. He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer after completing the final season of a five-year deal he originally inked with Chicago. He carries a cap hit of $5.9MM and has a modified NTC which allows Sharp to block trades to 10 teams.
Ruff also said that Curtis McKenzie and Adam Cracknell will draw into the lineup tonight, tweets Heika. Cracknell has three points in 23 appearances on the campaign and hasn’t played since November 28th. He’s been a healthy scratch the last two games for Dallas. McKenzie, himself a healthy scratch for Dallas’ 6 – 2 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday, has one goal and three points in 16 games this season.
The Stars have also been without forwards Ales Hemsky, Jiri Hudler and Mattias Janmark, among others, for much of the season to date. Veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya has spent the last two weeks on IR as well.
Central Division Snapshots: Arvidsson, Blues, Hawks, Johns, Oduya
Nashville Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson is establishing himself as a legitimate top-six forward in the league with a strong early performance in Music City. In a feature on the team’s official NHL.com website, John Glennon writes that Arvidsson, after going undrafted on two separate occasions before finally going in the fourth-round of the 2014 entry draft, is exceeding any expectations associated with someone of that pedigree.
The Swedish winger saw significant action during the 2015-16 campaign, appearing in 56 regular season games and all 14 postseason contests, but only flashed his on-ice abilities. Arvidsson tallied just eight goals and 16 points last year but through 20 games this season, the 24-year-old has nearly matched that level of production with six goals and 13 points. He’s on pace to register 20-plus goals and eclipse the 50-point plateau, which is production commensurate with a top-six forward.
After going undrafted in both the 2012 and 2013 entry drafts, Arvidsson worked hard in his native Sweden to turn himself into an energy player:
“When I got up to the Elite League in Sweden, they wanted me to work on my strength and stamina so that I could play at a high level every game and every shift. I worked really hard, and I think it helped me a lot. Since then, I’ve been an energy player. Before that, I was kind of an average player.”
Glennon compares Arvidsson to a popular former Predator, tough guy winger Jordin Tootoo, in that despite playing different styles, there is a “buzz” generated when they are on the ice.
Earlier this season, Arvidsson graduated to the team’s top line with center Ryan Johansen and winger James Neal. He’s currently fifth on the club in scoring and second behind only Neal in shots on goal with 61.
Arvidsson is just another example that procuring NHL talent is an inexact science at best. Quality players often go undrafted but with hard work can become regulars in the NHL.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides updates on a couple of injured Blues. According to Rutherford, Alexander Steen returned to practice Saturday but it’s still unclear when he’ll return to action. Steen has missed the last five games due to an upper-body-injury. Meanwhile, the news is more optimistic for blue liner Joel Edmundson. He also returned to practice Saturday but Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock indicated the 23-year-old defender could be ready to return to game action next week.
- After a 3 – 3 – 1 start to the campaign, the Chicago Blackhawks have turned their fortunes around, winning 11 of their last 16 decisions and accumulating 24 of a possible 32 standings points. This is despite boasting the league’s worst penalty kill, which allows nearly three goals for every 10 opportunities. The team has fared much better at even strength with a +13 goal differential in five-on-five man situations. But, as Chris Hine writes for the Chicago Tribune, the team feels as if they need to be even better. Head coach John Quenneville believes the team needs to generate more offensive opportunities at even strength: “We haven’t given up much five-on-five, but we haven’t generated what we’re looking for. A lot of games we’re neutralized (five-on-five), be it the neutral zone or both zones.”
- Lastly, Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News discusses the juggling that Stars head coach Lindy Ruff is having to do with the team’s blue line. Dallas has eight NHL-caliber defenders on the roster but obviously can only dress six on any given night. Johnny Oduya is currently on IR with a lower-body-injury but Ruff has still found it difficult to get Stephen Johns into the lineup. Consequently, the team assigned Johns to their AHL affiliate to get some game action this weekend. Johns scored three goals in two games for Texas, earning a quick recall to the big club. Meanwhile, Oduya appears to be nearing a return, according to Heika.
Dallas Will Healthy-Scratch John Klingberg
The Dallas Stars will be without their top defenseman on Monday night versus the Minnesota Wild.
Mark Stepneski, a writer with the Stars website, is reporting that John Klingberg missed the team meeting on Monday morning, and will be a healthy scratch as a result. Julius Honka will take Klingberg’s place in the lineup, according to coach Lindy Ruff.
Klingberg told Stepneksi that he overslept and he’s embarrassed to have let the team down. He said it won’t happen again and he apologized to his teammates.
According to Mike Heika, Klingberg stayed on the ice to skate hard after the practice. Klingberg has just one assist in his last five games, and scored an own-goal in Saturday night’s 5-2 loss to Edmonton when Connor McDavid intentionally banked the puck off Klingberg’s stick.
Stars Notes: Sharp, Lineup Changes, Goaltending
The Dallas Stars have been without Patrick Sharp for almost three weeks now after the veteran forward experienced concussion-like symptoms. The problems arose after Sharp took a devastating hit from Brayden McNabb of the Los Angeles Kings on October 20th, and initially there was no timetable for his return. Sharp skated with the team today, and according to head coach Lindy Ruff (via Mark Stepneski) doesn’t sound too far away:
It’s a step in the right direction and some light at the end of the tunnel for him. He’s feeling better. Hopefully we can get him two or three practices and he can be ready possibly for Sunday.
Sharp, one of the most consistent goal scoring wingers in the league over the past decade had a successful first season with the Stars last year after being traded there last summer. He provided another 20-goal season and recorded 55 points mostly skating alongside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. His return to the lineup would help deepen a Stars forward group that is really struggling to score goals. With Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin, Jiri Hudler and Ales Hemsky all missing time for various injuries this season, Sharp would be a sight for sore eyes for Ruff and the Dallas coaching staff.
- Following three straight losses, the Stars will make some lineup changes for tonight. Justin Dowling and Jamie Oleksiak will both get back into the lineup, while Patrik Nemeth and Esa Lindell will visit the press box. Oleksiak is set to skate on the third pairing with Jordie Benn, while Dowling will center the fourth line between Gemel Smith and Adam Cracknell. Both newcomers have played just two games for the Stars this season.
- Kari Lehtonen will be in net tonight against the Calgary Flames for his third start in a row despite being pulled in his last game. The 32-year old netminder was relieved after giving up four goals on eleven shots against the Jets on Tuesday. Antti Niemi didn’t fare much better though, as he gave up four goals as well on twenty shots. The Stars are now 4-6-3 and off to a terrible start in many facets of the game.
Central Division Snapshots: Trouba, Mitchell, Hudler, Dowling
To this point, the only outcomes discussed in the Winnipeg/Jacob Trouba stalemate have involved either the player caving in and signing a new contract to remain with the Jets or a trade sending the RFA defenseman elsewhere. But as Rory Bolyen of Sportsnet writes, there is a possibility Trouba re-signs with the team as a way to help facilitate a trade down the road.
Bolyen references comments made by Nick Kypreos and Elliotte Friedman made yesterday on the Saturday’s Headlines segment. Kypreos states the a signed Trouba may have more value on the trade market than he does currently.
“Kurt Overhardt (Trouba’s agent) met with Kevin Cheveldayoff in Detroit. The feeling is it’s still pretty quiet on that front, but Winnipeg would love to sign this guy. And sign him to that same contract we’ve seen other defensemen get. The perception out there right now is that there is a deal, like a Morgan Rielly deal, for $5 million, six years.
“And that would still come with the thought that it could be tradable if in fact he signs this and starts playing again, that they could be in a position where teams would love the known certainty of Jacob Trouba for the next six years and it would be tradable if that’s the direction they wanted to go.”
Friedman added that Overhardt went through a similar situation with another client, Kyle Turris.
“Just so you know, Kyle Turris when he went through the situation, he signed on November 22, he was traded on December 17,”
Sitting out the season likely would do little to enhance Trouba’s value so getting back on the ice should be a priority. Obviously he would sacrifice the only leverage he possesses as Winnipeg could simply choose to hang onto the young blue liner instead of moving him. But perhaps it would be best for both sides if Trouba signs a new deal and gets back to playing while the Jets continue to pursue a trade to their liking.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- The Colorado Avalanche placed John Mitchell on waivers Friday and the veteran pivot, who is in his ninth NHL season, cleared Saturday. Mitchell, who has been held scoreless in five appearances this season, is in his fifth season with Colorado. He has reached double-figures in goals and tallied at least 20 points in each of his first four campaigns with the Avalanche. With only a projected $1.7MM in available cap space, the move was made in order to provide additional cap flexibility for GM Joe Sakic, as Mike Chambers of The Denver Post writes. The club can now send Mitchell down to their AHL affiliate in San Antonio at any point over the next 30 days to open up a spot on the roster for a younger player and/or to clear an additional $950K in salary cap space. Mitchell is in the last season of a three-year deal worth $5.4MM. He is making $1.9MM in actual salary.
- According to Mark Stepneski, who covers the Stars for the team’s official website, Dallas has placed Jiri Hudler on injured reserve due to an undisclosed illness and recalled forward Justin Dowling from Texas of the AHL. Hudler was signed this summer to provide secondary scoring but the 12-year veteran has played in just four games and has so far failed to record a point. Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News adds that since Dowling played both Friday and Saturday in California for the Texas Stars, head coach Lindy Ruff may elect to dress seven defensemen for tonight’s game. According to Ruff (via Heika), the team has no idea what specifically has afflicted Hudler as tests have revealed nothing.
Snapshots: Injury Updates, Hamhuis
Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov spoke to the media today, and provided an update to his status after he left Thursday night’s game versus the Montreal Canadiens. Kucherov took a hit and slammed into the boards in the first period.
Kucherov says he feels better and is considered day-to-day. The Lightning have called up Cory Conacher to replace him. Kucherov is currently tied with Alex Killorn for second among all Tampa Bay players with 7 points in 7 games.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Julie Dobbs of Fox Sports South West provided an update about some injured Dallas Stars players. Center Jason Spezza (lower-body injury) will be a game-time decision on Saturday night, while Jiri Hudler (illness) also looks likely to play. Hudler was activated off IR on Saturday afternoon. Cody Eakin (knee), Mattias Janmark (knee), and Patrick Sharp (concussion) are all out long-term, but Ales Hemsky (groin) appears to be close to a return.
- Dobbs also noted that Dam Hamhuis appears to be out of the lineup. The 34-year-old defenseman has 2 assists in 7 games. Mike Heika of the Dallas News noted yesterday that head coach Lindy Ruff “doesn’t quite trust” Hamhuis yet. Hamhuis signed a two-year, $7.5MM contract with the Stars in July. It appears that Stephen Johns will replace Hamhuis.
Patrick Sharp Sidelined With Concussion-Like Symptoms
According to head coach Lindy Ruff – via a tweet from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News – winger Patrick Sharp is expected to be out of the Stars lineup “for a while” due to concussion-like symptoms. Sharp was injured on a hard check from Los Angeles defenseman Brayden McNabb along the boards and appeared to hit his head as he fell.
The Stars have been hit particularly hard by injuries so far this season. Patrick Eaves, Ales Hemsky, Mattias Janmark and Cody Eakin have yet to appear in a game for Dallas while free agent addition Jiri Hudler will likely miss the team’s next game with an illness. As Heika notes, the absence of Hudler will likely prompt a call-up from the club’s AHL affiliate.
The loss of Sharp for a significant period of time is a big one for Dallas. The veteran scorer, who is in his 14th NHL season, scored 20 goals and 55 points for the Stars in his first season with the club after being acquired via trade from Chicago. Sharp, 34, is in the final year of a five-year deal with a cap hit of $5.9MM.