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Minor Transactions: 12/24/17

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After a 15-game schedule on Saturday and a three-day holiday break, you would expect little action over the next few days, but a few teams made a few roster moves before starting their vacations. Let’s see if more are coming …

  • The Ottawa Senators made four roster moves this morning, sending goaltender Daniel Taylor, defensemen Andreas Englund and Ben Harpur as well as forward Chris Didomenico to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. Taylor was recalled due to the unavailability of goaltender Craig Anderson. DiDomenico was brought up Friday after injuries to Zack Smith and Bobby Ryan and played in 8:47 of ice time in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Florida. Englund was recalled after the team lost forward Gabriel Dumont and Harpur has been up and down all season covering the team’s many injuries. Harpur played in 14:22 on Saturday, while Englund and Taylor were scratches.
  • The Montreal Canadiens assigned defenseman Brett Lernout to the Laval Rocket of the AHL Sunday morning. Lernout got into Saturday’s game to fill in defensive injuries with Shea Weber out, and played 14:43 of ice time and getting two hits in. He was recalled on Thursday.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets made three moves of their own, assigning forwards Jordan Schroeder, Tyler Motte and defenseman Cameron Gaunce to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Both Schroeder and Motte were recalled on emergency loans Saturday for the team’s 2-1 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Both played in the game. Gaunce had been recalled on Dec. 17, but didn’t play in a game.
  • The Los Angeles Kings made a couple of moves Sunday, as they assigned defenseman Kevin Gravel and goaltender Jack Campbell to the Ontario Reign of the AHL. Neither player got into a game with the Kings. Campbell was an emergency backup last night as backup Darcy Kuemper was unavailable. Gravel was recalled after the team placed defenseman Christian Folin on injured reserve.

Injury Notes: Wennberg, Martin, Folin, Vilardi

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The Columbus Blue Jackets might be without one of their young centers, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The scribe writes that head coach John Tortorella didn’t acknowledge what the injury is, but said Alexander Wennberg is “probably out a while.”

The team already with multiple injuries at the center position with Brandon Dubinsky out as well as the fact that Wennberg himself has already missed significant time with injuries. The 23-year-old center had a breakout year last season when he put up 13 goals and 59 points, but this year has already missed several weeks with an upper-body injury in November. He has four goals and 12 assists in 30 games this season and hasn’t been as effective this year, often playing on the team’s third line.

Portzline also tweets that defenseman Zach Werenski is still out with no updates. In other injury news around the league:

  • San Jose Sharks defenseman Paul Martin’s two week conditioning stint is up (it actually expires Sunday) and he has been recalled. However, it doesn’t look like he will be placed into the Sharks lineup anytime soon. An Associated Press article in the New York Post reported Friday night that Martin had a setback from his recovery from ankle surgery, although the injury is not a recurrence of the same injury. However, there is no timeline for his return. Martin played four games with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, the first four games he’s ever played in the AHL in his entire career. The 36-year-old defenseman had one assist in that span.
  • Fox Sports Jon Rosen tweets that Los Angeles Kings’ defenseman Christian Folin remains out after being placed on injured reserve Tuesday due to a lower-body injury. According to Rosen, Kings’ head coach John Stevens said, “He hasn’t really started skating again yet, but we’ve got the break coming here. We want to just let everything settle down, get him going again after the break. I would hope he starts skating after the break, but we’ll see.”
  • Rosen also tweets that Los Angeles Kings’ 2017 first-round pick Gabriel Vilardi, who has been out with a back injury since the start of the season, is expected to be cleared to play in games for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL on Dec. 28. Vilardi was the 11th-overall pick after scoring 29 goals for the Spitfires last season and has missed the entire year so far.

Boone Jenner Has Game Misconduct Rescinded

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  • The NHL has rescinded the game misconduct penalty given to Blue Jackets winger Boone Jenner, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). This is notable as players who accumulate two game misconducts for stick infractions within 41 games or three in total for any reason during the season receive an automatic one-game suspension.  This penalty being taken back puts Jenner back at a clean slate for the season.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Motte, Schroeder

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have made a pair of roster moves before tomorrow’s game, recalling both Tyler Motte and Jordan Schroeder. Schroeder is up on emergency conditions, which signals an injury somewhere on the roster. It likely means that Alexander Wennberg, whose status was unclear for the game, won’t be available. Wennberg missed the end of last night’s game against Pittsburgh, though no injury has been disclosed at this point.

Interestingly, the team had just sent down Sonny Milano earlier today and instead recalled Motte and Schroeder. Both players have experience at center, a position that has continuously frustrated the Blue Jackets this season. Without Brandon Dubinsky, the team has been forced to use Nick Foligno at center again recently, something that’s not ideal for their roster. If Pierre-Luc Dubois hadn’t burst onto the scene this season and been able to handle a full load, the team would be in even worse condition.

The Blue Jackets were in on Matt Duchene earlier in the year, and adding a center seems like an inevitable scenario for the team before the trade deadline. While Motte is an interesting player for the future, he doesn’t represent an answer at present. With the team just one point out of first, and seven points out of last in the Metropolitan Division, even the smallest of margins can be the difference between going to the playoffs and going to play golf this season.

Minor Transactions: 12/22/17

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Even during the NHL roster freeze, some moves will still be made on the fringes to get teams ready for the holiday break. As always, we’ll keep you updated on all the minor transactions around the league.

Minor Transactions: 12/20/17

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Despite the NHL being in their holiday roster freeze, there are still minor moves that can be made. As we’ve discussed before, players can still be recalled from the minor leagues during this time, and those who were recalled after December 11th can still be loaned to the AHL until 11:59pm eastern on December 23rd. Thus, the league is not completely frozen and we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Gabriel Carlsson from the AHL, due to an injury to Zach Werenski that will keep him out of the lineup tonight against Toronto. Carlsson played 10 games with the Blue Jackets earlier this season, and is another highly touted defenseman in their system. Though he has quite a few excellent players ahead of him, expect Carlsson to make an impact on the Blue Jackets before long.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have assigned Michael Chaput to the minor leagues, meaning either the move technically went through last night or Chaput had been up previously on emergency conditions. He’d previously been called up on December 6th, and played in three games with the club.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Kevin Gravel from the AHL, bringing the hulking defenseman up for the first time this year. Gravel played 49 games with the NHL club last season, but has been toiling in the minor leagues all year, scoring nine points in 24 games. With Christian Folin headed to injured reserve yesterday, the Kings needed a seventh defenseman for the time being.
  • Tomas Hyka has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Vegas Golden Knights, after sitting out last night’s match against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hyka still hasn’t made his NHL debut after signing out of Europe in the summer, but has 12 points in 16 games for the Chicago Wolves.
  • Joseph Blandisi has been sent to the minor leagues by the Anaheim Ducks, something Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register suspected yesterday. Blandisi has dealt with injury since coming over from the Devils in the Adam Henrique–Sami Vatanen trade, and only played in three games with the Ducks.
  • Shane Prince is back with the New York Islanders after a lengthy conditioning stint, where he registered two points in four AHL contests. Prince spent ten days in the minor leagues with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but is ready to return and contribute for the surging Islanders.

Minor Transactions: 12/19/17

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The NHL will activate a roster freeze tonight at 11:59pm eastern, effectively shutting down the trade market for a little over a week. While today may bring some movement in terms of trade, more likely small changes will be made to rosters to ensure the team is ready for the next few games. Players can be called up during the freeze, but not waived or loaned.

  • Last night, the Vegas Golden Knights recalled Tomas Hyka from the minor leagues and placed Luca Sbisa back on injured reserve. Hyka, 24, was signed this summer by the Golden Knights as one of the very first players in franchise history. This will be the first time he’s up in the NHL, after showing an offensive capability at the minor league level. With 12 points in 16 games for the Chicago Wolves, Hyka is off to a great start in North American professional hockey.
  • With Sonny Milano returning for the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, the team has sent Tyler Motte back to the minor leagues. The 22-year old Motte had four points in 19 games with the Blue Jackets, but will have to wait for his next opportunity.
  • After acquiring Josh Archibald from the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Arizona Coyotes have sent Dylan Strome back to the minor leagues. The 20-year old Strome has just one point in 11 games with the Coyotes this season, but has dominated the AHL level with 26 in 15 games.
  • The San Jose Sharks have assigned Danny O’Regan and Marcus Sorensen to the AHL, while recalling Joakim Ryan. Remember, that the team can still recall players during the freeze.

Minor Transactions: 12/17/17

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After an 11-game schedule last night that included the Centennial Classic at Lansdowne Park between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens, the NHL has just four games on Sunday, but after all that action, many teams are likely going to make some moves to shuffle their rosters.

  • NHL.com’s Brian Hedger reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets will make a few roster changes after the team’s 2-1 loss to Carolina Saturday. The team plans to recall winger Sonny Milano and defenseman Cameron Gaunce and intend to assign forward Jordan Schroeder and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. For many of these players, they have been rotating back and forth between clubs most of the season. Milano has been one of those players. The 21-year-old has been with Cleveland for the past week and has two assists in four games there. He has played 25 games for the Blue Jackets, but has had trouble finding the net after a hot start. Gaunce will be recalled for the first time this season. The 27-year-old, who signed with Columbus in the offseason, has five assists in 20 AHL games. The team will return Schroeder, who has been up and down, but is slowly crossing the 10-game barrier that would force the team to place him on waivers again. The team placed the 27-year-old wing on waivers on Oct. 23. He has played eight games for Columbus with no points. Carlsson, has also been a two-way player quite often this year. The 20-year-old former first-round pick in 2015 has one assist in 10 games with Columbus and has played in just five games with Cleveland. He has been with the team since Dec. 1.
  • The Florida Panthers announced the team has loaned winger Dryden Hunt to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL as the team is starting to get healthy again. The 22-year-old has been with the team since Nov. 9, but has just one assist in 11 games with the Panthers. Hunt had been playing well with Springfield to start the season, which is what prompted his promotion to Florida after he put up five goals and three assists in 13 games.
  • The St. Louis Blues unsurprisingly activated defenseman Alex Pietrangelo Sunday, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Pietrangelo was activated after missing the last four games with a foot injury that he suffered in a Dec. 9 game against Detroit when he took a shot off his foot. The 27-year-old captain’s seven goals ranks third among NHL defenseman and his 23 points ranks him ninth among defenseman.
  • Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post tweets that the Washington Capitals made a couple of roster moves today, sending defenseman Madison Bowey and winger Jakub Vrana to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. However, Khurshudyan adds that it is just a paper move to give Washington a small amount of cap space as both are not expected to leave town and will be recalled tomorrow morning.

New York Islanders Loan Josh Ho-Sang To AHL

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4:15pm: Steve Bernier is the call-up for the Islanders, giving the journeyman forward another crack at the NHL. Bernier has played for six different NHL teams since being drafted 16th-overall by San Jose in 2003. Once a promising young power forward with goal scoring upside, Bernier hasn’t made an NHL appearance since the 2015-16 season.

10:38am: After another loss at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, the New York Islanders have sent Josh Ho-Sang back to the minor leagues. While there is no guarantee this is for more than just the day, Ho-Sang is mired in a five-game pointless streak and the team doesn’t necessarily need the cap space. More likely it is an attempt to shake up the team after going 4-5-1 in their last ten and allowing 11 goals over the last two.

Ho-Sang has been the focus of displeasure from Islanders’ fans recently, as his high-risk style has resulted in more chances against than for of late. Still, he has 12 points in 21 games this season and is a dynamic offensive player. The Islanders—filled with offense suddenly, and trailing only Tampa Bay in goals for—need to find a way to keep the puck out of their own net with more regularity. Shane Prince, who is on a conditioning loan with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers could potentially be recalled in Ho-Sang’s place.

The Islanders currently sit in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but can’t afford to keep losing. In a season that must impress their star player John Tavares enough to warrant a long-term extension, missing the playoffs would be a huge problem. After acquiring Jordan Eberle and Andrew Ladd the last two offseasons to help their offense, the loss of Travis Hamonic seems to have really weakened them defensively. When combined with a terrible penalty kill and poor performances from both Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak in net, the team has allowed 111 goals against this season—the most in the East and only trailing Arizona league-wide.

Brandon Dubinsky Out 6-8 Weeks With Fractured Orbital Bone

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Don’t get in a fight with Zack Kassian. Brandon Dubinsky learned that the hard way last night, and will now be out six to eight weeks with a fractured orbital bone. Dubinsky and Kassian got into it at the end of the game, but after taking one hard shot the Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward doubled over and had to slowly leave the ice. Dubinsky has already been placed on injured reserve, while the team has recalled Jordan Schroeder from the AHL.

Brandon DubinskyBlue Jackets’ GM Jarmo Kekalainen on the situation:

At this time, the damage has not affected the function of his eye and long-term vision. He will continue to be monitored closely by our medical team.

While it is good news that Dubinsky’s vision and long-term health doesn’t seem at risk, the short-term effect on Columbus could be devastating. Though he isn’t performing up to his standards offensively, Dubinsky takes a huge number of draws for the Blue Jackets, especially in their own end. He also logs the most short-handed time by any forward, and is a physical force on the ice. The Blue Jackets haven’t been able to get their powerplay working, and with a weakened center group could face even more troubles scoring 5-on-5.

It seems likely that Nick Foligno could return to the center position, something he did at length during the beginning of the season when other players were injured for the Blue Jackets. They’ll now need to rely even more heavily on Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has gone from an uncertain roster spot to the top-line pivot in a matter of months. The 19-year old Dubois has played nearly 18 minutes a night during the last ten games, a number that could increase even further with Dubinsky on the shelf.

The injury also could accelerate the Blue Jackets’ plan on the trade market, as the team has previously been linked to available centers. They wanted to add one even when Dubinsky was healthy, knowing they had precarious depth at the position. Whether this forces their hand somewhat won’t be known until Kekalainen makes a deal, but you can bet teams in the Metropolitan are licking their chops at the chance to unseat Columbus from the top of the standings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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