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Minor Transactions: 11/06/19

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Last night was another step in the right direction for three struggling Western Conference teams, as the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild were all victorious in their respective matchups. The same can not be said about the Los Angeles Kings, who are now 5-10 and have trade rumors swirling all about. Just two games are on the schedule tonight, and as teams prepare for that action we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • With Alexandre Texier nearing a return, the Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Markus Hannikainen to the minor leagues. Hannikainen still hasn’t played in a single game for the Blue Jackets this season after suiting up 44 times in 2018-19. The 26-year old is just injury depth at this point.
  • Dominic Toninato has been recalled by the Florida Panthers, after they sent Riley Stillman back yesterday. The Panthers acquired Toninato from the Colorado Avalanche just a few months ago, and this will be his first call-up with the organization.
  • German Rubtsov’s time with the NHL club is over for now, as the Philadelphia Flyers have sent him back to the AHL and recalled Mikhail Vorobyev. In three games Rubtsov was held scoreless and still looks to have some development to do in the minor leagues. The 21-year old has played just 21 AHL games so far after injury robbed him of much of the 2018-19 season.
  • Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy are on their way back to the Chicago Wolves, the latest in a series of transactions for the pair of Vegas Golden Knights prospects. The team is using off days to bank some cap space, but could recall one or both down the road.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have sent Ashton Sautner back down, a good sign after he was forced from his only game with an injury. The 25-year old defenseman won’t be a full-time player for the Canucks this season, but is valuable injury depth.
  • Josh Mahura has been assigned to the Anaheim Ducks, another likely cap-saving move that while the team waits for their next game. The Ducks don’t play again until Sunday.
  • Zachary Senyshyn and Cameron Hughes have both been sent back down by the Boston Bruins, who don’t play again until Friday evening. At least one of the young forwards will likely be recalled at that time, but for now the team will save some cap space on the off days.
  • Jayson Megna has been returned to the AHL by the Colorado Avalanche, with T.J. Tynan taking his place on the NHL roster. The 27-year old Tynan has been on fire at the minor league level, scoring 12 points in his first ten games for the Colorado Eagles.
  • The Washington Capitals have returned Liam O’Brien to the minor leagues, giving him a chance at some playing time after sitting on the sidelines the last few days. O’Brien is an important player for the Hershey Bears, but hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since 2017-18.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks announced that defenseman Dennis Gilbert has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. The 23-year-old has split his season between the NHL and AHL, most recently getting some starts in Chicago in place of Brent Seabrook. 

Snapshots: Trade Bait, Byfuglien, Landeskog

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Frank Seravalli of TSN has released his first Trade Bait board of the season, and at the top is Chris Kreider of the New York Rangers. Both Seravalli and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet have now suggested that Kreider could be a worthwhile option for the St. Louis Blues while they deal with the absence of Vladimir Tarasenko, though neither scribe does anything more than speculate on the situation.

More interesting perhaps is Travis Hamonic’s appearance relatively high on the board, after recent news came out that he would not negotiate an extension in-season with the Calgary Flames. Hamonic has all the makings of a top trade deadline acquisition—a 29-year old right-handed defenseman with an expiring contract that carries a reasonable $3.86MM cap hit—but he’s also still an important part of a Flames team that had big expectations this season. It’s still early, but as the calendar turns to November trade speculation is about to heat up.

  • Dustin Byfuglien’s representatives are in discussions with the NHLPA about his injury situation according to Darren Dreger of TSN, who suggests things “could get complicated” if it is determined that the ankle injury that recently needed surgery did occur playing hockey. Things are already complicated when it comes to Byfuglien, whose status as suspended by the team has not changed according to Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who declined to provide much of an update today.
  • While the Colorado Avalanche have still not confirmed what Gabriel Landeskog’s injury is aside from it being “lower-body,” A.J. Haefele of BSN Denver saw the forward in a walking boot last night and had heard rumors of a broken foot. The team listed Landeskog as out indefinitely, but head coach Jared Bednar had explained his captain will miss significant time.

Gabriel Landeskog Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury

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3:55pm: Landeskog is out “longer than week-to-week” according to head coach Jared Bednar. The injury will cause him to miss “significant time” though there is no exact timetable yet. The team has recalled Jayson Megna from the AHL in the meantime.

10:27am: The Colorado Avalanche are already without star forward Mikko Rantanen for a while, and now captain Gabriel Landeskog will be joining him in the rehab room. The team somewhat ominously announced that Landeskog is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Though the details are few at the moment, a lengthy injury would be a disaster for the Avalanche as they try to hold onto first place in the Western Conference. The team added depth this offseason to deal with this sort of situation, but removing two of the top three forwards from any team would put them in a difficult situation.

Landeskog, 26, actually wasn’t off to quite as dominant of a start this season, despite having seven points in 11 games. His possession numbers hadn’t been quite as good as usual, and that top line—which has been one of the best in the NHL for the last few seasons—hasn’t been quite as impressive. A step down from greatness is still good however, meaning the Avalanche were still safely one of the best teams in the NHL through the first month of the season.

That claim will be tested without Landeskog and Rantanen, though the additions of Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky and Joonas Donskoi are paying dividends already. The trio has 23 points through 11 games and has made Colorado look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender from top to bottom.

Mikko Rantanen Out “Week-To-Week”

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The Colorado Avalanche seem to have escaped total disaster in regards to Mikko Rantanen. The team announced today that the star forward will be out “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury. That’s obviously better than the fears of an ACL tear after Rantanen crumpled to the ground in Monday’s game. The team will re-evaluate the injury next week.

Rantanen’s injury looked brutal when it happened, as his skate blade caught the ice and twisted his leg awkwardly. Head coach Jared Bednar believes it won’t be a four-to-six type injury, which would be a blessing for a team looking like Stanley Cup contenders in the Western Conference.

The Avalanche are off to an outstanding 7-1-1 record this season and Rantanen represents a huge part of their offensive attack. In his absence Joonas Donskoi was skating on the top line alongside Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon, an incredible opportunity for the former San Jose Sharks forward that signed a four-year deal with Colorado this summer.

Snapshots: Stecher, Rantanen, AHL Suspensions

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The Vancouver Canucks are sitting at 5-3 through the early part of the season thanks to the strong play of some of their young players, but are still fifth in what is shaping up to be an extremely tough Pacific Division. With the improved roster, one player that has lost some of his ice time is Troy Stecher. He was the topic of discussion on TSN radio today because of a “rumbling” that host Jason Brough had heard about potential trade talks. Insider Bob McKenzie gave his take on the situation:

The same little rumble that you’ve heard, I think everybody has kind of heard it and [are] trying to figure out how much significance to attach to it. But the reality is that if [Tyler] Myers and [Chris] Tanev are both going to be healthy and play ahead of him, then probably you’re right. Then he’s probably not going to love third-pair minutes, and maybe he’s an asset that’s more valuable than that, though not on the Canucks. 

McKenzie noted that if Stecher does become available there would likely be lots of teams interested, but was quick to explain how there might be an issue with how the Canucks would value him compared to what the offers may be. Through the first three years of his NHL career, Stecher has averaged close to 20 minutes a game for the Canucks, but has logged under 14 in six of eight games this season.

  • Colorado Avalanche fans will have to hold their collective breath for one more day as the team will not issue an update on Mikko Rantanen’s injury until Wednesday according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The star forward’s foot got caught on the ice last night and twisted his left leg awkwardly, taking him immediately out of the game. Rantanen was off to another blistering start to his season with 12 points in his first nine games (including one in the eight minutes he managed last night), and hopefully won’t be out long-term with this injury.
  • The AHL has suspended several players for incidents over the last few days. Michael McCarron has been given a two-game ban for interference and Givani Smith has been suspended one game for clipping, while A.J. Greer and Jarred Tinordi have been given six and three games respectively for what happened on Saturday. Greer left the penalty box to fight Tinordi after already participating in a fight, meaning he actually earned himself three game misconducts and 40 penalty minutes all at once.

Minor Transactions: 10/16/19

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If you’re a hockey fan in Nova Scotia, tonight’s NHL action must feel like the Stanley Cup Final as provincial heroes and good friends Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon square off in Pittsburgh. The two superstar centers are off to great starts this season with the former taking the full weight of the Penguins on his back after Evgeni Malkin suffered an injury and the latter leading his Colorado Avalanche to a perfect 5-0 record so far. That’s one of six games on the schedule for this evening, and as teams prepare for action we’ll be right here to keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Avalanche have returned Kevin Connauton to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, activating J.T. Compher from injured reserve in the process. The Avalanche have so many NHL defensemen that they’re going to scratch Nikita Zadorov tonight, meaning it would have been tough for Connauton to get into the lineup.
  • The Chicago Wolves have released Brett McKenzie from his professional tryout after just a single game with the team. McKenzie, 22, was a seventh-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2016 but spent almost all of last season with the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL. McKenzie will return to the Fort Wayne Komets, where he’ll continue to try and show he is good enough to move up to the AHL.

J.T. Compher Expected To Return Saturday

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  • J.T. Compher’s time out of the Avalanche lineup appears to be short-lived. Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the center is expected to return on Saturday after missing last night’s game due to a lower-body injury.  The 24-year-old has a goal in two games so far this season.  Colorado didn’t place him on IR so they won’t need to make a corresponding roster move for him to suit up.

Minor Transactions: 10/08/19

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After a relatively quiet Monday night around the NHL, things are ready to kick into high gear tonight with eight games on the schedule. Among those are some heavyweight matchups and upstart battles, but perhaps most interesting will be one between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames. Though the Kings may not be quite ready for playoff contention, don’t tell Drew Doughty that. The veteran defenseman has been in the news this week as he prepares to face his young rival in Matthew Tkachuk tonight.

As always we’ll keep track of all the minor moves teams make in preparation for tonight’s action.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have officially recalled Sami Niku and Nelson Nogier from the AHL, while placing Bryan Little on injured reserve. The team has also given Dmitry Kulikov a personal leave, making their defense quite an inexperienced group for tonight’s game. Josh Morrissey will also not be back in the lineup even after returning to practice in full yesterday, meaning the team will have a tough test containing Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
  • After using some deft roster management to get the full benefit of long-term injured reserve yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings have sent Oliwer Kaski and Ryan Kuffner back to the minor leagues. Andreas Athanasiou has also been activated and should be in the Red Wings’ lineup tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.
  • Kevin Connauton has been recalled by the Colorado Avalanche, who were carrying just six defensemen while Ian Cole continues to recover from injury. The team will take on the Boston Bruins on Thursday, though it is not clear who exactly will be in the lineup at this point.

Minor Transactions: 10/07/19

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The second week of the NHL season is underway and teams are already starting to feel the injury bug. With just two games on the schedule tonight today will serve as a rest period for many of the stars that fell over the weekend. With that in mind there may be some transactions around the league to bring up replacements, and we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Vitaly Abramov from the minor leagues, giving the young forward a chance after the team sent down Drake Batherson and Filip Chlapik yesterday. Abramov, 21, was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and made his NHL debut with the Senators, but is still looking for his first point. The 5’10” winger has incredible skill with the puck but has yet to really break out at the professional level. In 70 AHL contests last season he had 29 points.
  • Max Comtois has been recalled by the Anaheim Ducks, giving the young forward another chance in the NHL after impressing last season. The 20-year old Comtois recorded seven points in ten games with the Ducks before being returned to the QMJHL, where he predictably dominated as an NHL-ready prospect. Selected 50th overall in 2017, Comtois brings a mix of skill, speed and physicality that will be a big part of the Ducks forward group moving forward. Where he fits in right now isn’t clear, but the team has high hopes for the for him.
  • With Ian Cole now cleared for contact and approaching a return, the Colorado Avalanche have decided to send Conor Timmins to the AHL according to Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic. Timmins was one of the most inspiring stories from training camp, making the Avalanche roster after missing the entire 2018-19 season with concussion issues. The 21-year old defenseman made his professional debut last week but was barely used by head coach Jared Bednar, totaling just 20:39 of ice time in two games. Cole is not quite ready to make his return to action, but Timmins obviously needs to play a bit more than that as he tries to jump right back onto the strong development path he had previously traveled.

Poll: Who Will Win The Central Division In 2019-20

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We’ve finally reached the end of the offseason and things kick off this week around the NHL. Exhibition games are underway in Europe and final cuts have come down all around the league. The excitement for the upcoming season is palpable, with even the most minor transactions generating plenty of interest among hockey fans.

With that in mind we’re going to ask you, the PHR reader, to give us your thoughts on the upcoming season. We started with the Atlantic Division, which seemed an easy choice for a good chunk of our community. The Tampa Bay Lightning ran away with the poll, earning a whopping 46% of all votes. Next was the Metropolitan Division earlier today, which doesn’t look quite as lopsided. The Washington Capitals have been picked by 32% of the voters to take home their fifth consecutive division title, but the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils each currently carry more than 10%.

After finishing up the Eastern Conference we’ll now move west into the Central Division, where the Nashville Predators finished just a single point ahead of both the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues last season. In fact, Nashville’s 100 points were the lowest by any division winner and wouldn’t have even placed second in any of the other three groups. It didn’t do them much good either, as the Predators would fall in the first round to the Dallas Stars and have to watch their division rivals from St. Louis take home the Stanley Cup.

With that in mind, the Central might be the hardest division in the league to predict for 2019-20. All seven teams finished with at least 83 points last season and a similar thing might happen this year as they beat up on each other all year long. The Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche should all be improved, while the Jets still have a star-studded forward group even if their defense did take a hit in the offseason.

Who do you think will come out on top of the Central Division? Will Matt Duchene’s arrival make up for the loss of P.K. Subban from the back-end in Nashville? Can the young core in Colorado take them all the way to the top? Will the Blues continue to ride a breakout Jordan Binnington all year long? Cast your vote below and explain how you think the season will play out!

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