Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Avalanche Rumors

Central Division Snapshots: Lehtera, Parise, Avalanche

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In his latest chat feature appearing in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jeremy Rutherford tackles an array of reader questions yesterday. A popular topic for Blues fans are the ongoing struggles of center Jori Lehtera, who St. Louis made a healthy scratch for this evening’s game against Winnipeg.

Lehtera posted a strong rookie campaign in 2014-15, finishing with 14 goals and 44 points in 75 games. He followed that up with a 34-point campaign last season, a noticeable drop off in output but still enough to convince the Blues to ink the 28-year-old Finnish pivot to a three-year deal with an AAV of $4.7MM. As Rutherford noted, the Blues might have been better off waiting another year to prove himself but the team decided to get that deal done so as to allow themselves to focus on re-signing David Backes and Jaden Schwartz. With just seven points in 20 games this season it’s looking like that extension may have indeed been premature.

Rutherford also believes it’s more likely now that the team will leave Lehtera unprotected and available to be taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in next June’s expansion draft. He projects the Blues will choose to protect 10 skaters – seven forwards and three blue liners – but has Lehtera and Ty Rattie as two the team will leave unprotected.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  •  Mike Russo of the Star Tribune reports that Zach Parise is indeed healthy, according to the team’s bench boss, Bruce Boudreau. There was concern after the veteran winger blocked a shot in the first period of Minnesota’s recent loss to Calgary. Boudreau described Parise’s skating as “sluggish” and “methodical,” in post-game remarks, which led to the questions pertaining to Parise’s health status. The long-time NHL coach did sit down with Parise along with winger Charlie Coyle, and plans to do the same with center Eric Staal to discuss the line’s recent struggles. As Russo notes, the line is pointless in its last two contests and the trio combined for just two even-strength shots in the Calgary game.
  • Lastly, Colorado GM Joe Sakic is sticking by the team’s core group despite a rough start to the 2016-17 campaign, writes Terry Frei of The Denver Post. The Avalanche are currently tied with Arizona for last place in the Western Conference and are seven points out of a playoff berth. With their season on the verge of slipping away, Sakic still expresses faith in his core – Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Semyon Varlamov, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon – and feels the team needs to play with more urgency in order to get their season back on track: “I have faith in them. But to me, the start is not a core thing; it’s a team thing. I think you see we’re trying to hold people accountable. We know we have certain guys who can give more, and those guys know they can give more, but it’s not like it’s a whole thing. We’re not as consistent as we need to be. We didn’t win two straight Cups and have that leeway. We have to play with that urgency every night on a consistent basis to be successful.” Sakic’s reluctance to break up the team’s core played at least some part in the division between the GM and former head coach Patrick Roy. Unless the Avalanche can turn things around relatively quickly, it’s going to look like Roy, and not Sakic, was correct in his assessment.

Minor Transactions: Ottawa, Colorado, Boston, Arizona

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Ottawa Senators have re-assigned forward Max McCormick to the AHL’s Binghamton Senators and recalled Buddy Robinson and Andreas Englund. McCormick was used sparingly over the last month with the team, playing in just five games. Even when he did play, McCormick averaged just seven minutes of ice time each game. He has been held scoreless so far this season and has just five shots on goal. The demotion will allow McCormick to get some play time, and the Senators will see if Robinson can bring more to the table in his stead. With just three NHL games under his belt, Robinson is still an unknown at the highest level, but did have a goal and an assist and was a +2 in his short stint with the team last season.

Meanwhile, this is the first career call-up for the young Swedish defenseman Englund. A 2014 second-round pick, Englund is a big, physical defenseman who can bring some added toughness to Ottawa. With Marc Methot day-to-day, it stands to reason that Englund will make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Florida Panthers.

Other promotions and demotions include:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have returned both Samuel Henley and Gabriel Bourque to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Henley made his NHL debut last night and scored his first career goal, but the Avs fell 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Considering that Colorado is a team that should take all the scoring it can get (ranked 29th in scoring and goal differential), it seems odd that the team was so quick to send Henley back down. The 23-year-old has not put up big numbers thus far in his pro career, but is just three years removed from being a 30-goal scorer in the QMJHL. With just over five minutes of ice time on his NHL resume, the Avs were quick on the trigger to return this prospect. Bourque, on the other hand, has yet to register a point in six games with Colorado this season. He’s looked more like the player who had four points in 22 games with the Predators in 2015-16 than the player who looked like a future stud in Nashville with 16 points in 34 games in the lockout season of 2012-13. His chances at redemption may be running out.
  • The Boston Bruins have promoted Anton Blidh from the Providence Bruins of the AHL, giving the young Swedish winger his first career call-up. He is expected to make his debut tomorrow in Buffalo, skating on the Bruins’ fourth line. Blidh brings the toughness and intensity that the Bruins love and coach Claude Julien has applauded his work ethic. A Boston team that has a lot of talent but whose effort has been suspect at times this season may just need the boost that a high-energy kid looking to make a name for himself can bring. The 21-year-old has nine points in 16 games and has posted a +8 in Providence. The leap in production from his first season in North America last year to this year has been apparent.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have re-called Tyler Gaudet from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. A young team with deep minor league depth, Arizona has made frequent moves between Tuscon this season. Maybe it’s the shorter distance compared to when their affiliate was in Springfield, Massachusetts last season. Whatever the reason, the ease by which the Coyotes have promoted and demoted has not benefited Gaudet. The 23-year-old center was able to stick around for longer chunks of time last season, playing in 14 games, and was expected to carve out a role for himself in 2016-17. Instead, he has played in just one game despite being on the active roster multiple different times. Hopefully for Gaudet, he gets to stick around, but don’t be surprised if he’s back in Tuscon by week’s end.

Boucher Waived; Gelinas Clears Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New Jersey Devils have placed forward Reid Boucher on waivers.

Boucher has been a healthy scratch for the past week, and with Taylor Hall coming back from injury, the Devils needed to make space on their roster for the return of their superstar.

With just two points in nine games, Boucher has been unable to find last season’s scoring success. The 5’10, 195 lbs center scored 19 points in 39 games with the Devils in 2015-16. If he’s not claimed, look for him to be assigned to the Albany Devils of the AHL, where he’s scored 105 points in 164 games.

Meanwhile, former Devil and current Colorado Avalanche defenseman Eric Gelinas cleared waivers.

The 25-year-old defenseman has just one assist in seven games this year. Gelinas is in his first full season with Colorado after being acquired at the 2016 trade deadline from New Jersey for a 3rd round pick in this year’s draft. Interestingly enough, before the trade to the Avalanche, Gelinas was originally the Devils defenseman that Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli contacted New Jersey about before talks turned to Adam Larsson.

The 6’4, 215 lbs left-handed defenseman has 55 points in 169 games, but is not considered to be a dependable defenseman because of his defensive awareness. Gelinas is in the final season of a two year deal that carries a cap hit of $1.575MM.

Central Notes: Campbell, Yakupov, Avalanche, Nashville Injuries

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Although defenseman Brian Campbell wound up declining a bigger contract offer from Florida both in terms of years and dollars, he told George Richards of the Miami Herald that he has no regrets about spurning that in order to return to Chicago:

“I’m smiling now, I’m happy. I don’t look back and I know I made the right decision when I signed here. I did it for my family and for myself as a hockey player. Hopefully I have a bunch of years left but I want to make the most of them.”

Back in June, GM Tom Rowe offered Campbell a two year, $8MM deal in the hopes that negotiations would ensue from there.  However, the 37 year old had his heart set on going back to Chicago where he and his family kept a summer home there despite the fact that he had been traded from the Blackhawks back in 2011.  Given that Chicago is perpetually hovering right near the salary cap though, they weren’t able to come close to matching Florida’s initial offer; he wound up for signing for a $1.5MM guarantee and a $750K games played bonus, one that has already been achieved.

Campbell is playing a smaller role than he had with the Panthers as his average ice time is down over three and a half minutes per game from last season.  However, he has been a quality contributor so far for the Blackhawks in a depth role, picking up eight points in 24 games while logging a regular role on the power play.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • Although he has been a healthy scratch in seven of the last 12 games, St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong still stands by his acquisition of Nail Yakupov, writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Armstrong feels that the low acquisition price (a conditional third round pick and ECHL prospect Zach Pochiro) makes the move a worthwhile gamble, even if Yakupov only plays a sparing role.  He also highlighted the recent play of right winger Dmitrij Jaskin as one of the reasons that Yakupov hasn’t played as much recently.  Still, it’s fair to wonder if the former number one overall pick in 2012 could be in need of another change of scenery given that his $2.5MM cap hit is steep for the depth role Yakupov currently has.
  • Colorado prospect left winger Sam Henley will make his NHL debut tonight against Columbus, reports Terry Frei of the Denver Post. Henley, an undrafted free agent signing back in 2014, has just four points in 19 games this season with AHL San Antonio but the team is interested in his ability to kill penalties as they’re set to take on the number one power play in the league.  Gabriel Bourque, another checking forward, will also make his season debut and should see time on the penalty kill as well.
  • The Predators have downgraded the status of left winger James Neal from day-to-day to week-to-week, The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan notes. He suffered an upper body injury against Winnipeg last week.  Also, defenseman Anthony Bitetto, who just last week returned after missing 18 games with an upper body injured, suffered a broken hand on Tuesday and will be back on the shelf for another six weeks.

Avalanche Place Eric Gelinas On Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Colorado Avalanche have placed defenseman Eric Gelinas on waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

Gelinas is in his first full season with Colorado after being acquired by the team at the trade deadline last year from New Jersey in exchange for a 2017 3rd round pick.  However, he has played a sparing role this season, suiting up in just seven games, recording one assist while averaging just 12:30 per game.

The 25 year old is best known for his offensive skill set and size.  He has 55 points (14-41-55) in just 169 games and at 6’4, possesses ideal size for a defender.  However, his play in his own end isn’t the sharpest and as a result, he had been deployed by the Devils as a forward or strictly a power play specialist at times before they dealt him last season.

Gelinas is in the final season of a two year deal that carries a cap hit of $1.575MM.  He’s eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the season and will be due a qualifying offer of $1.65MM.

Still on the waiver wire, Friedman also reported in that tweet that Nashville defender Adam Pardy cleared waivers.  He signed a one year, two-way NHL deal with the team on Wednesday but had to clear waivers to return to Milwaukee of the AHL.

Snapshots: Enstrom, Hall, Landeskog

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Winnipeg Jets don’t really need it right now, but they’re getting back one of their biggest defensive pieces. While the team has won the last two games over the Predators and Devils, they’ll welcome back Toby Enstrom for tomorrow’s game against Edmonton after the blueliner returned today from Sweden where he’d been dealing with a personal issue.  No word on what the issue was, but it seems like it’s resolved at least for now.

The team has climbed to within one game of .500 on the season with an 11-12-2 record and look to even up with almost a full compliment tomorrow night. According to Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun, Marko Dano, who earlier today tweeted out a photo of the damage done by Kyle Quincey’s stick, has a final appointment tonight to see whether he’s cleared to play tomorrow.

  • Taylor Hall was one of the first Devils players on the ice today for an optional skate according to Andrew Gross of The Record. The superstar winger is working his way back from a knee injury that required surgery earlier this month and was given a 3-4 week timeline for his return. Today is the two week mark, but Hall is hoping a return can come as early as tomorrow evening. Hall had scored 12 points in 14 games before sustaining the injury.
  • The Colorado Avalanche announced that they’re likely putting captain Gabriel Landeskog on injured reserve, clouding the waters surrounding his injury. While it’s not even clear what the forward is suffering from, it’s clear that he won’t be back with the team any time soon as he isn’t even skating with the club. The Avalanche need him back healthy as they’re slipping further and further down the standings. The team now sits in seventh (last) position in the Central Division, five points back of the surging Jets for sixth place.

Injuries: Callahan, Landeskog, Toews

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Injury updates tonight in the NHL:

  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan is out tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a lower body injury, reports Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. The Lightning winger is off to a slow start this season with only 2G and 2A in 15 games so far. His ice time has diminished as a result—Callahan is averaging less than 15 minutes a game. It is unclear what caused the injury, but Callahan did participate in the team’s morning skate today, reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • Adrian Dater reports that Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog may be suffering from a charley horse that refuses to heal. According to Cam Tucker of NBC Sports, Landeskog isn’t even skating with the team, indicating that he may be out longer than expected. The Swedish forward had 4G and 4A in 15 games before the injury, and the flailing Avalanche need him back as soon as possible. They currently sit one point out of last place in the Western Conference.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks will be without captain Jonathan Toews for the third straight game, reports the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc. Toews sits out with an apparent back injury suffered last Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks. Coach Joel Quennevillle does not consider the injury serious and labelled the captain day-to-day. Toews is experiencing an uncommonly low shooting percentage so far this season, scoring on only 7.4% of his shots, while his career average is just under 15%. He’ll hope to improve on those numbers when he returns. The Toews-less Blackhawks face the Florida Panthers tonight in what is their first game of five in eight nights.

Blue Jackets Trade Cody Goloubef For Ryan Stanton

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced tonight that they have traded defenseman Cody Goloubef to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Ryan Stanton. The Blue Jackets immediately assigned Stanton to the AHL Cleveland Monsters, while Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that the Avalanche assigned Goloubef to its AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage.

Goloubef—the former 2008 2nd round draft pick—has 2G and 5A in 16 games for the Cleveland Monsters this season. The defenseman has bounced between the AHL and NHL since he was drafted, and scored 1G and 7A in 43 games with Columbus last season.

Stanton went undrafted but signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. In 15 games with the San Antonia Rampage this season Stanton has scored 1G and 3A. He also played two full seasons in the NHL with the Canucks from 2013-15, scoring 4G and 23A in 118 games.

Coincidentally, both players have ties to their new coaches. Goloubef played for Avs Coach Jared Bednar when Bedner coached the Cleveland Monsters last year. Stanton meanwhile played for John Tortorella in Vancouver during the defenseman’s tenure with the Canucks.

 

Snapshots: Ivan Hlinka Tournament, Three Stars, Staal, And More

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup is making its way from Europe to North America. Hockey Canada announced today that the premiere under-18 hockey tournament will be hosted by Edmonton, Alberta in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Named after Czech legend Ivan Hlinka, the tournament has been operated by the Czech Ice Hockey Association and the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation since 1991. Traditionally held in August, the eight-nation summer tournament brings together the best of the best in teenage hockey players, as well as fans from around the world. Canada has won the tournament 20 times and will now get it’s first chance to take home the title in front of a home crowd.

In other league news:

  • The NHL named it’s 3 Stars of the Week today, pegging Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson, New Jersey Devils winger Mike Cammalleri, and San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns as first, second, and third respectively. Anderson continues to play well this season, despite dealing with the difficult news of his wife’s cancer diagnosis in October. He improved to 12-4-1 this week, including wins over Eastern Conferences forces Montreal, Boston, and the New York Rangers. Returning from injury, Cammalleri potted four goals and added four helpers as well, as the Devils continue to defy expectations. The veteran scorer leads the team with seven goals, despite missing six games. Fresh off of a major long-term extension, Burns contributed six points in four games for the Sharks, including an impressive goal from about center ice.
  • Jordan Staal suffered a concussion in the Carolina Hurricanes’ game against the Florida Panthers yesterday, reports ’Canes beat writer Chip Alexander. GM Ron Francis has yet to issue any more information, and there is currently no timetable for the return of the Carolina star.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have a bug going around the locker room. Just a few days after forward Rene Bourque missed practice with an illness, defenseman Erik Johnson has fallen victim to what is believed to be the same sickness, but the team is hopeful that he will be ready for the Avs’ game tomorrow night. Terry Frei of the Denver Post spoke with coach Jared Bednar who said “it’s been going through our team a little bit, but we’ve contained it and it’s only been a 24-hour thing, so (Johnson) should be able to go tomorrow.”
  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled forward Chris Wagner and defenseman Shea Theodore from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Wagner was just sent down recently and has yet to even play an AHL game. In 19 games in Anaheim thus far, the energy-liner has contributed two goals. Theodore, a 2013 first-round pick, has played in eight games with the Ducks this season, but was demoted as a result of the Hampus Lindholm resolution. With the extraordinary defensive depth of the Ducks, Theodore’s trip to Anaheim may be a short one.

The 2016 All UFA Bargain Team

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Organizations generally wait until around the quarter mark of the campaign before making determinations on their team. Are they contenders or pretenders? Do they anticipate being buyers or sellers at the deadline? These are among the questions teams begin to ponder at this point in the season. Subsequently, now seems like a good time to look back at the summer’s free agent signings to see which are outperforming expectations and can safely be called free agent bargains.

Forward

Eric Staal (Minnesota) – Three years, $10.5MM: After a down season in 2015-16 split between Carolina and the New York Rangers, questions surfaced about whether Staal was a legitimate top-line center or if his decline in production was representative of a player past his prime. Staal recorded 10 consecutive seasons – 2005-06 through 2014-15 – in which he recorded at least 53 points but stumbled to a 39-point output last season. Those concerns led to a discounted contract which compensates Staal at the level of a well-paid third liner as opposed to a top-line player.

Staal has rebounded this season and through 20 games with the Wild, the 13-year veteran has registered 15 points. Perhaps a better sign his early-season production may be based more on ability than on luck, Staal is back to averaging close to three shots per game. Last season he averaged just 2.4 shots per contest and for his career he is at 3.3. Staal is currently tied for 57th among forwards in points-per-game; a rank perfectly in line with that of a top-line forward.

Jonathan Marchessault (Florida) – Two years, $1.5MM: Marchessault could prove to be the steal of the summer. He signed a two-year deal with the Panthers worth just $1.5MM this summer after failing to find a permanent role in either Columbus or Tampa Bay. Through 20 games in South Florida, the 25-year-old forward has nine goals and seven helpers and is on pace for a 65-point campaign.

While Marchessault struggled to earn regular NHL work prior to this season, he has an excellent junior and minor league track record. In 306 AHL games, the 5-foot-9, 174-pound wing tallied 98 goals and 262 points. That success at least suggests Marchessault can continue to produce at the level of a top-six forward. That’s a steal for $750K.

Michael Grabner (New York Rangers) – Two years, $3.3MM: Grabner was a solid producer while with the Islanders, averaging 0.30 goals-per-game over parts of five seasons. But after registering just nine goals and 18 points in 80 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2015-16 campaign, Grabner was available at a bargain price for the Rangers.

All he’s done for the Blue Shirts is register 12 goals, all at even strength, and 16 points in 22 games with the Rangers. He ranks third overall in goals scored while his total at even strength leads the league. He’s also tops in the NHL in plus-minus with a rating of +20. His penalty-killing ability has also been welcome on Manhattan. Perhaps he won’t continue to produce at this level but even then, he’s well on his way to a 20-goal campaign which would be a tremendous return on a $1.65MM investment.

Defense

Brian Campbell (Chicago) – One year, $1.5MM: Campbell was dead set on returning to Chicago as a free agent this summer and he did, at a rate the cap-strapped Hawks could afford. Campbell has eight points in 22 games this season, despite seeing nearly four fewer minutes of ice time per contest than he averaged in 2014-15. Currently, the 37-year-old blue liner is on pace for a 29-point campaign, which is pretty good value relative to Chicago’s minimal commitment.

Patrick Wiercioch (Colorado) – One year, $800K: Wiercioch inked a one-year contract with Colorado after his previous employer, the Ottawa Senators, elected not to submit a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent. Wiercioch has been a good fit on the Avalanche blue line, ranking fifth on the team in scoring with eight points and leading the club with a +2 plus-minus rating. The 26-year-old has been utilized primarily as a third-pair defender and is fifth among the team’s blue liners in average ice time at 17:27 per game.

Goaltender

Chad Johnson (Calgary) – One year, $1.7MM: Johnson was signed by Calgary to ostensibly serve as the understudy to summer trade acquisition Brian Elliott. But while Elliot has struggled in his new surroundings – 3.43 GAA and a 0.882 Save % – Johnson has provided the Flames with steady play between the pipes. In 11 starts this season, Johnson has a GAA of just 1.98 and a Save % of 0.928. Only five goalies who have appeared in at least 10 games have a better GAA than Johnson.

 

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top