- The Avalanche have called a press conference for Monday where it’s expected that they will officially announce a new AHL affiliation with the Colorado Eagles, reports BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater. The affiliation would come into effect starting in the 2018-19 season so the Avs would maintain their current affiliation with AHL San Antonio for the upcoming season while the Eagles will remain as an ECHL franchise for 2017-18.
Avalanche Rumors
Duchene Trade Talks Quieting Down
With the start of the regular season now less than a week away, Matt Duchene remains a member of the Avalanche and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested to 630 CHED in Edmonton (audio link) that things are currently pretty quiet on the trade front with Colorado. GM Joe Sakic has set a very high asking price and as of yet, no one has been willing to meet it so it appears there’s a good chance that this will drag out into the season. Friedman notes that Columbus remains very interested in Duchene’s services while a trio of Western teams, Edmonton, Anaheim, and Nashville have been in and out of talks at times as well. Duchene has two years left on his contract with a $6MM cap hit but aside from the Ducks, the other three teams all have the cap room to take him on without sending any money the other way.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/29/17
The last Friday before the season begins, and just a few more days until teams have to submit their final rosters. As we head into the final few preseason contests, some teams are still holding onto a huge roster. The waiver wire is sure to be filled over the next few days as teams make their final cuts. As always, we’ll have all the movement right here throughout the day.
Anaheim Ducks
F Sam Steel – Regina (WHL)
F Max Jones – London (OHL)
F Jack Kopacka – Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
D Josh Mahura – Regina (WHL)
Arizona Coyotes
F Emerson Etem – Tucson (AHL)
G Hunter Miska – Tucson (AHL)
Boston Bruins
F Kenny Agostino – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Chicago Blackhawks
F David Kampf – Rockford (AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin – Rockford (AHL)
D Erik Gustafsson – Rockford (AHL)
D Ville Pokka – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Colorado Avalanche
D Duncan Siemens – Waivers for purpose of assignment.
Florida Panthers
F Henrik Haapala – Springfield (AHL)
D Ed Wittchow – Springfield (AHL)
G Harri Sateri – Springfield (AHL)
Minnesota Wild
D Carson Soucy – Iowa (AHL)
F Ryan Malone – Released from PTO, will join AHL camp
Montreal Canadiens
F Chris Terry – Laval (AHL)
New York Rangers
F Matt Puempel – Hartford (AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Tom Sestito – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Alexander Volkov – Syracuse (AHL)
San Jose Sharks
D Jacob Middleton – San Jose (AHL)
D Nick DeSimone – San Jose (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
F Nikolay Goldobin – Utica (AHL)
D Philip Holm – Utica (AHL)
D Olli Juolevi – Assignment team TBD
F Anton Rodin – Will be placed on waivers tomorrow.
F Scottie Upshall – Released from PTO
Vegas Golden Knights
F Stefan Matteau – Chicago (AHL), cleared waivers
A.J. Greer Out Indefinitely With Concussion
The Colorado Avalanche were dealt an injury blow today when the team announced to reporters that A.J. Greer suffered a concussion and will be out indefinitely. Adrian Dater of BSN Denver had noticed Greer wasn’t at practice, and filled us in afterwards with the news. It’s not Greer’s first injury this training camp, as he’d previously dealt with a hand injury and lacerated lip.
While there is no timetable as of yet, it’s a tough way for Greer to start what was expected to be a big season for him. The 20-year old was penciled into the lineup after impressing at the minor league level and in a short call-up last year, and has all the talent to contribute right away. His size and nose for the net allowed him to score 15 goals last year as an AHL rookie, after leaving Boston University early the year prior.
The Avalanche aren’t expected to compete for the Stanley Cup this year, but players like Greer, J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen have things headed in the right direction. The youth of the team up front is impressive, and they could easily climb out of the very bottom of the standings should someone break out. We’ll keep an eye on whether Greer is able to bounce back from this concussion quickly, or whether it lingers and holds him out of the lineup long-term.
Snapshots: Duchene, Athanasiou, Vegas, Belmont Park
Matt Duchene has been suiting up in the preseason for the Colorado Avalanche despite continuing trade speculation, and Adrian Dater of BSN Denver has now been told it’s very likely the unhappy forward will begin the year with the team. That does seem like the only option at this point, as a team has still yet to step forward and meet GM Joe Sakic’s asking price.
Some of the hesitation to pony up for Duchene comes from his disappointing season a year ago, when he scored just 18 goals and 41 points. Those numbers were both career-lows in full seasons, and there has been some debate over whether Duchene can handle top center duties any longer. From all accounts, the 26-year old has looked great in training camp so far as he tries to prove that he can still help turn the tide for any organization.
- Unsigned restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou hasn’t spoken to the Detroit Red Wings in almost ten days according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. St. James says that since a face-to-face meeting on September 16th, there has been “nothing but silence.” It’s starting to look like Athanasiou will not start the season with the Red Wings, despite multiple offers extended from the team. Holdouts rarely end in big raises for players involved in them, and it’s not clear exactly why the two sides are so far apart.
- Jason Pothier of SinBin examined the history of George McPhee when he was the GM of the Washington Capitals, and shows that if he’s operating similarly a trade may be coming in the next few days. McPhee has completed eight trades in the last week before the season in the past, and since there still seems to be too many NHL-level defensemen in town, it could happen once again.
- As expected, there will be at least one other bid for the Belmont Park location is a potential spot for a new New York Islanders’ arena and it will indeed be New York City FC. Jim Baumbach of Newsday reports that the soccer franchise will submit a bid, but it’s actually not the team’s preferred location. We’ve heard before that it could take months to be given a decision, but proposals must be officially submitted by Thursday afternoon.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/25/17
Another week begins with a full preseason schedule and teams starting to use their expected opening day rosters more and more. With that, cuts will be happening each day and PHR will keep you updated on each one.
Arizona Coyotes
F Michael Latta – Tucson (AHL)*
F Tyler Gaudet – Tucson (AHL)*
G Adin Hill – Tucson (AHL)
Anaheim Ducks
F Nicolas Kerdiles – San Diego (AHL)
F Dustin Tokarski – San Diego (AHL)*
Boston Bruins
F Jordan Szwarz – Providene (AHL)*
D Tommy Cross – Providence (AHL)*
Chicago Blackhawks
D Viktor Svedberg – Rockford (AHL)
Colorado Avalanche
F Brendan Ranford – San Antonio (AHL)
F Brady Shaw – San Antonio (AHL)
F Shawn St. Amant – San Antonio (AHL)
F Alex Belzile – San Antonio (AHL)
D Nolan De Jong – San Antonio (AHL)
D Mason Geertsen – San Antonio (AHL)
G Spencer Martin – San Antonio (AHL)
F Felix Girard – San Antonio (AHL)*
F Trent Vogelhuber – San Antonio (AHL)*
F Rocco Grimaldi – San Antonio (AHL)*
F Andrew Agozzino – San Antonio (AHL)*
D Jesse Graham – San Antonio (AHL)*
G Joe Cannata – San Antonio (AHL)*
Dallas Stars
F Justin Dowling – Texas (AHL)
F Mark McNeill – Texas (AHL)
D Andrew Bodnarchuk – Texas (AHL)
D Ludwig Bystrom – Texas (AHL)
G Mike McKenna – Texas (AHL)
Detroit Red Wings
F Zach Nastasiuk – Grand Rapids (AHL)
D Dan Renouf – Grand Rapids (AHL)
G Matej Machovsky – Grand Rapids (AHL)
F Mike Borkowski – Released from tryout
F Austen Brassard – Released from tryout
F Connor Crisp – Released from tryout
F Luke Esposito – Released from tryout
F Dominik Shine – Released from tryout
D Simon Denis – Released from tryout
D Pat McCarron – Released from tryout
D Kevin Tansey – Released from tryout
D Pat Nagle – Released from tryout
Florida Panthers
F Chase Balisy – Springfield (AHL)
F Dryden Hunt – Springfield (AHL)
F Juho Lammikko – Springfield (AHL)
D Michael Downing – Springfield (AHL)
G Sam Montembeault – Springfield (AHL)
D Nikolai Belov – Released from PTO
F Alexandre Grenier – Springfield (AHL)*
D Reece Scarlett – Springfield (AHL)*
Los Angeles Kings
F Brandon Prust – Released from PTO
F Shane Harper – Released from PTO
G Matthew Villalta – Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
Nashville Predators
F Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Trevor Smith – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Emil Pettersson – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Yakov Trenin – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Alexandre Carrier – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Petter Granberg – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Jack Doughtery – Milwaukee (AHL)
D Andrew O’Brien – Milwaukee (AHL)
G Anders Lindback – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Cody Bass – Milwaukee (AHL)*
New York Rangers
F Daniel Catenacci – Hartford (AHL)
F Cole Schneider – Hartford (AHL)
F Scott Kosmachuk – Hartford (AHL)
D Brandon Crawley – Hartford (AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Brett Howden – Moose Jaw (WHL)
F Anthony Cirelli – Syracuse (AHL)
F Adam Erne – Syracuse (AHL)
F Mathieu Joseph – Syracuse (AHL)
F Matthew Peca – Syracuse (AHL)
F Mitchell Stephens – Syracuse (AHL)
F Dennis Yan – Syracuse (AHL)
D Erik Cernak – Syracuse (AHL)
D Jamie McBain – Syracuse (AHL)
D Ben Thomas – Syracuse (AHL)
D Daniel Walcott – Syracuse (AHL)
F Tye McGinn – Syracuse (AHL)*
Vancouver Canucks
F Reid Boucher – Utica (AHL)*
Vegas Golden Knights
F T.J. Tynan – Chicago (AHL)*
F Paul Thompson – Chicago (AHL)*
*Placed on waivers for purpose of assignment.
Wilson: Mutual Decision For Him To Leave Predators
- Colin Wilson’s time with the Predators came to an end this summer when he was dealt to Colorado. He noted to AJ Haefele of BSN Denver that it was a situation where “both parties decided to move on”. Wilson is coming off of a 35 point season with Nashville but has largely been viewed as an underachiever the past few seasons whose cap hit of nearly $4MM was too high for what he brought to the lineup. That should change this season as he will be counted on to play a big role with the Avalanche and will likely start inside their top six.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/22/17
The cuts keep coming from training camps around the league as the season draws near, with less than two weeks from opening night. Teams are starting to whittle down the players they’ll take in the regular season. Like every day, we’ll keep track of all the cuts right here:
Anaheim Ducks
F Antoine Morand – Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
Colorado Avalanche
F Travis Barron – Ottawa (OHL)
F J.C. Beaudin – San Antonio (AHL)
F Julien Nantel – San Antonio (AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets
F Hayden Hodgson – released from PTO
Dallas Stars
F Nick Caamano – Flint (OHL)
Los Angeles Kings
F Shane Walsh – released from PTO
F Evan Weinger – released from PTO
D Clayton Kirichenko – released from PTO
Minnesota Wild
D Gustav Bouramman – Iowa (AHL)
D Dylan Labbe – Iowa (AHL)
D Hunter Warner – Iowa (AHL)
F Adam Gilmour – Iowa (AHL)
F Pavel Jenys – Iowa (AHL)
F Chase Lang – Iowa (AHL)
F Mario Lucia – Iowa (AHL)
F Gerald Mayhew – Iowa (AHL)
F Dante Salituro – Iowa (AHL)
G Adam Vay – Iowa (AHL)
Montreal Canadiens
F Niki Petti – Laval (AHL)
F Yannick Veilleux – Laval (AHL)
F Thomas Ebbing – Laval (AHL)
F Antoine Waked – Laval (AHL)
D Stefan Leblanc – Laval (AHL)
D Simon Bourque – Laval (AHL)
D Tom Parisi – Laval (AHL)
F Markus Eisenschmid – Laval (AHL)
G Michael McNiven – Laval (AHL)
New York Islanders
F Kieffer Bellows – Portland (WHL)
F Arnaud Durandeau – Halifax (QMJHL)
D David Quenneville – Medicine Hat (WHL)
New York Rangers
D Sean Day – Hartford (AHL)
D Sergey Zborovskiy – Hartford (AHL)
F Dawson Leedahl – Hartford (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
F Carter Bancks – Utica (AHL)
F Wacey Hamilton – Utica (AHL)
D Jaime Sifers– Utica (AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights
D Dylan Coghlan – Tri-City (WHL)
F Bryce Gervais – Chicago (AHL)
F Cody Glass – Portland (WHL)
D Nicolas Hague – Mississauga (OHL)
F Stephen MacAulay – Chicago (AHL)
D Kenney Morrison – Chicago (AHL)
D Dmitry Osipov – Chicago (AHL)
F Nick Suzuki – Owen Sound (OHL)
Winnipeg Jets
F Patrice Cormier – Manitoba (AHL)
F Francis Beauvillier – Manitoba (AHL)
F Brody Sutter – Manitoba (AHL)
D Kirill Gotovets – Manitoba (AHL)
D Peter Stoykewych – Manitoba (AHL)
G Eric Comrie – Manitoba (AHL)
Latest On Matt Duchene Trade Front
While Matt Duchene continues to practice with the Colorado Avalanche and take it “one day at a time” several other teams are pursuing the 26-year old forward. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that the Senators are one of those teams after Duchene, writing that GM Pierre Dorion “has been aggressive in his pursuit.” The Senators lost Colin White for several weeks last night, who could have been an option in their top-six to start the season; perhaps that will increase their offer ever more, though Garrioch is quick to point out that nothing is close at present.
It’s not clear if the Duchene saga is moving towards an end, but Mike Chambers of the Denver Post was on radio again today saying how players are getting frustrated with the situation. Duchene has been trying to avoid the media as much as possible since reporting to Avalanche camp, issuing only short statements and even changing in a different room. Chambers told Mike Halford and Jason Brough of TSN 1040 that players have expressed some disdain for that decision:
I think his teammates understand that he’s got issues with management and wants a trade. I think his teammates are okay with that, as it is. But I think his teammates cannot handle the fact that Duchene is undressing in another part of the building, so he won’t undress in the locker room where the media has access. I’ve spoken to a couple players—I’m not going to name names—but they think that’s a little off and that’s drawing too much attention to this saga.
While his teammates might not like exactly how he’s dealing with this, that certainly won’t force the hand of Avalanche GM Joe Sakic anymore than it already is. He’s clearly waiting for a deal that satisfies what he believes Duchene is worth, and won’t make a move before he absolutely has to. Garrioch notes that the Avalanche have shown interest in Cody Ceci before, but that the Senators are wary of moving what they believe is a building-block defenseman.
Duchene Speaks To Media; Doesn't Say Much
- BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reported that Matt Duchene spoke to media today, but said little to illuminate the uncomfortable situation surrounding his trade rumors. Duchene is taking things “one day at a time” and “not looking that far into the future.” The Colorado Avalanche center has been mired in trade rumors for much of the past year, and was expected to be traded at the deadline last season. Nevertheless, he is still with the Avalanche for now, and is focusing on training camp. The Avalanche are reportedly asking a high ransom for Duchene, and want to ensure a better return then what they received for Ryan O’Reilly.
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