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Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Rust, Beauvillier

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The Blue Jackets have held extension talks with pending UFA blueliner Jack Johnson, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during an interview with 630 CHED in Edmonton (audio link).  He was quick to add that his sense is that the two sides aren’t particularly close to a deal but that there is interest in keeping the 30-year-old in the fold.  Johnson is making $5MM in salary this season with a cap hit slightly over $4.35MM and with his production tapering off a bit in recent years, a new contract for him should come in somewhat close to his current deal.  It’s known that Columbus is looking to add another impact forward and perhaps locking up Johnson may give them the freedom to deal another defender for that desired help up front at some point.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Penguins winger Bryan Rust is setting himself up for a nice payday in the offseason. In a reader chat, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculates that the 25-year-old who currently has eight points in as many games this season could find himself in line for a contract similar to the one Conor Sheary received (three years, $9MM) if not more, depending on how long he can hold this level of production.  The Penguins have just shy of $61MM committed to 14 players for next season and will likely want to try to bring back pending UFA Patric Hornqvist as well so even though the team has a decent amount of wiggle room this year, that’s not likely to be the case in 2018-19.
  • Although Islanders winger Anthony Beauvillier has been a healthy scratch for three straight games and has waiver exemption, the team isn’t planning on sending him down to AHL Bridgeport at this time, head coach Doug Weight told Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. The 20-year-old had a good rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp but has just one goal in four games in the early going this year.  He’s expected to get another chance in the lineup today against San Jose.

Dubois Expected To Remain Past The Nine-Game Mark

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  • While Blue Jackets winger Pierre-Luc Dubois isn’t lighting it up (just one goal through seven games), Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that there are no indications that the team is planning on sending him back to junior before he plays his tenth game next week. The 19-year-old isn’t eligible to play in the AHL yet and the fact that he is playing a regular shift (he’s averaging nearly 13 minutes per game) is a good sign for him to officially burn the first season of his entry-level contract.  The focus will then shift to 40 games on the active roster when he will accrue a year towards UFA eligibility.

Columbus Assigns Hannikainen To AHL, Activates Jenner From IR

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are getting back to full health, as according to Brian Hedger of the team site, they’ve activated both Boone Jenner and Sam Vigneault from injured reserve. To make room, the team has assigned Vigneault and Markus Hannikainen back to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.

Jenner hadn’t played in a game yet this season after suffering an upper-body injury in training camp. The 24-year old had been missed, as he provides some of the strongest all-around play on the team when healthy. After scoring a career-high 30 goals in 2015-16, Jenner took a slight step backwards last season but still registered 18 goals and 34 points. That drop in goals can be easily prescribed to a fluctuating shooting percentage, as Jenner still generated over 200 shots on the year. He also was a big part of the physicality the Blue Jackets’ forward group brought, logging 200+ hits for the third time in his career.

One of the hardest parts about playing the Blue Jackets is how much size they bring up front. While the swap of Brandon Saad for Artemi Panarin reduced that a bit, bringing Jenner back into the fold should provide them with a bit more jump. His addition to the top-9 should lengthen their lineup even further, and allow them to build on their 5-2 start.

Gabriel Carlsson Placed On IR, Markus Nutivaara Recalled

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  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed defenseman Gabriel Carlsson on injured reserve with an upper-body injury retroactive to October 13th. Taking his place on the roster will be blueliner Markus Nutivaara, who was recalled from Cleveland (AHL).  Carlsson suffered the injury in the third period on Friday against the Rangers and had been a regular through their first four games.  As for Nutivaara, he spent all of last year with Columbus but was sent down on October 5th and has played in two games at the minor league level this season.

Minnesota Wild Overwhelmed With Injuries

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UPDATE: The team has confirmed the speculation, but things are in fact worse than anticipated. Coyle suffered a right fibula fracture, for which he underwent surgery today. His time frame is actually six-to-eight weeks, longer than estimated by Russo, and he has been placed on long-term injured reserve. The Wild needed that space, but it’s not quite over yet. Niederreiter too has been placed on IR, as he in fact did suffer a high ankle sprain, which was not expected, and will be out a minimum of three weeks. High ankle sprains can often be month-to-month injuries depending on the severity, so Niederreiter’s status will be worth constant monitoring. With now two roster spots freed up, Minnesota will be able to field a nearly-normal lineup tomorrow and in the near future, but at a steep cost. Finally, Foligno’s facial fracture is confirmed and he will miss a minimum of a week after undergoing facial reconstructive surgery tomorrow. It’s a dark day for Wild fans…

3:00PM: When the Minnesota Wild recalled first-year pro Luke Kunin from their AHL affiliate in Iowa today, it was clear that the injuries suffered in last night’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks were potentially more serious than originally believed. The Wild were already without Mikael Granlund (ankle) and Zach Parise (back) heading into the contest, but had been making due with their deep veteran lineup. That was before disaster struck on Thursday, as Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, and Marcus Foligno joined their teammates on the injury report by the end of the night.

Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) was given some early injury updates that range in their severity. It is believed that Niederreiter only sustained a sprained ankle, which Russo specifically differentiated from the feared high ankle sprain, and may even be ready to go for Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Foligno suffered what looked to be a broken cheekbone courtesy of a haymaker from John Hayden after the pair dropped the gloves. A facial injury, while painful, does not limit Foligno’s playing ability, but will almost certainly keep him out of the lineup for a week or so. Coyle is likely the worst case of the three; early indications are that a Jared Spurgeon slap shot may have fractured his fibula or tibia a.k.a a broken leg. If that is the case, Russo states that it is a four-to-six week recovery and Coyle will land on the injured reserve.

As bad as that sounds, an IR-worthy injury may be exactly what the Wild need right now. If all five of Coyle, Niederreiter, Foligno, Parise, and Granlund cannot play tomorrow – a distinct possibility – the Wild will be left with just nine forwards for the game. And that is including Kunin. Defenseman Mike Reilly, who was sent down today for Kunin, is one of only two waiver-exempt players on the team, the other being forward Joel Eriksson Ek, which of course is no help. Even if the Wild could move another defenseman or goalie to the minors for a forward, they wouldn’t; they have only two goalies and six defenseman on the roster too. So, if Coyle could be placed on IR, that would at least open up another roster spot to bring the healthy forward count to ten.

No official word has come in on the statuses of the three players injured last night, with only Niederreiter lookly like a remotely possible player for tomorrow night, while last word on Parise and Granlund were expectations they would return late next week. While awaiting more information, coach Bruce Boudreau and his staff must begin preparing to square off with the Blue Jackets with maybe only nine forwards and, given their luck, maybe even less by the end of the game.

East Notes: Schroeder, Paquette, Kronwall

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Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward Jordan Schroeder has been activated from injured reserve and sent to the AHL on a conditioning stint, as he continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury. Schroeder was acquired this summer from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Dante Salituro, but has yet to get into a game with the Blue Jackets this season.

A first-round pick in 2009, Schroeder never did quite fulfill his potential and has just 40 points in 144 career games. Once recovered, his presence will further complicate things in the bottom-six for Columbus, who are already carrying 13 forwards and are due back Boone Jenner at some point.

  • Cedric Paquette will be held out of the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup tonight with an undisclosed injury, though head coach Jon Cooper doesn’t believe it is a long-term problem. Paquette has been a fixture in Tampa Bay for several years, and had previously served as a primary penalty killer. This year however that job has at least partially gone to newcomer Chris Kunitz and young Brayden Point, making this injury a little easier to handle. Paquette is seeing the fewest minutes of his career, but could still be a useful depth option when he eventually returns.
  • Detroit Red Wings editor Dana Wakiji fills us in from practice today with one important note: Niklas Kronwall is skating with the main group and looks ready to make his season debut. Kronwall, a Red Wings legend, was skating with Mike Green and could debut tonight against the Arizona Coyotes. While the Red Wings start to move away from their previous core, Kronwall remains as one of the last members of the 2008 Stanley Cup team. He’ll try to find some of that magic again this season at age-36, in the sixth year of his seven-year extension.

Anderson Recalled From Conditioning Stint

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  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have recalled Josh Anderson from his conditioning loan from the Cleveland Monsters where he played one game with no points. The 23-year-old wing just signed a three-year, $5.5MM extension with Columbus last week and was just getting back into shape. He will join the team for their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Anderson scored 17 goals in a breakout season a year ago.

Minor Transactions: 10/05/17

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We’ll keep track of all the assignments around the league right here, as teams fine tune their rosters.

  • The Golden Knights assigned Brandon Pirri to the Chicago Wolves after clearing waivers. The 26-year old forward was just signed to a contract yesterday, after failing to earn on in Florida’s training camp. For the Golden Knights, there is no risk to signing a former 20+ goal scorer to see if he can still compete at this level. The team may be weak on offense all year, and could look to Pirri to infuse some scoring touch on the powerplay at some point.
  • The Boston Bruins sent Emil Johansson back to Providence, and will go with the more veteran Paul Postma as their extra defenseman. Johansson joined the organization last year after his European season was over, and played in six games for the P-Bruins down the stretch. A seventh-round pick, Johansson is highly regarded by the Bruins staff and could get his shot at the NHL at some point this year.
  • The Calgary Flames made another move, sending Garnet Hathaway to the minor leagues in order to clear room for Jaromir Jagr. Jagr was introduced yesterday at a press conference but likely won’t suit up for the team until he gets a few practices under his belt. The Flames could have used his offense last night as they were shutout by the Edmonton Oilers, in a game where Hathaway played just 11 minutes.
  • The Washington Capitals have loaned Chandler Stephenson to Hershey after clearing waivers, meaning the 23-year old will have to wait patiently for his next NHL opportunity. Since being drafted in the third round, Stephenson has only been given short chances at a job with the Capitals, playing in 13 games over the past two years. Still looking for his first NHL point, he’ll have to prove it at the AHL level once again.
  • Grand Rapids will be getting some help, as the Detroit Red Wings have assigned Matt Lorito and Eric Tangradi to the AHL. Tangradi cleared waivers today, and will return to the team he helped take to the Calder Cup championship a year ago. In the playoffs for Grand Rapids, Tangradi scored 19 points in 19 games, and will try to do the same this year. The Griffins have also signed Matt Carey to a professional tryout, and sent Matej Machovsky to the ECHL.
  • According to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, the Avalanche have indeed sent Joe Colborne to San Antonio to begin the season. Colborne was among those who cleared waivers today, and will have to work his way up from the minor leagues if he wants to return to the NHL. It’s a far fall for Colborne, who was a 19-goal scorer in the league just two seasons ago with Calgary, but suffered the same fate as many Avalanche players and posted a career-low in points last season. Scoring just eight all year, his $2.5MM salary looks like a dreadful overpay.
  • The Blue Jackets have assigned defenseman Markus Nutivaara to the AHL (via the Cleveland Monsters website). For the former seventh-round pick appeared in 66 games during his rookie campaign, collecting two goals and five assists. He also made his way into a pair of playoff games, compiling one goal and one assist.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Josh Anderson Going Through Immigration Process

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  • Blue Jackets winger Josh Anderson is in the middle of going through the immigration process (which was required once his new contract was signed) and as a result, he will not be in their lineup on Friday night against the Islanders, reports Andrew Erickson of the Columbus Dispatch. However, since his contract is now active, he is counting against their 23-man active roster even though he’s not with the team.

Josh Anderson To Sign With Columbus

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Josh Anderson has agreed to a three-year deal worth $1.85MM a year with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Anderson was a restricted free agent, and the Blue Jackets’ last player to sign before the season starts. The deal will officially take Anderson through the 2019-20 season, and is broken down as follows:

  • 2017-18: $1.6MM
  • 2018-19: $1.85MM
  • 2019-20: $2.1MM

Anderson and the Blue Jackets were locked in contract negotiations all summer. Things rose to a head in September when Anderson reportedly asked for a trade. The final terms are lower than what two other prominent RFAs received. Calgary Flames’ Sam Bennett signed for $1.95MM a year, and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Connor Brown signed for $2.1MM a year.

In his first full season with the Blue Jackets, Anderson scored 17G and 12A in 78 games and an additional 1G and 1A in 5 playoff games. Columbus valued him enough to make moves prior to the expansion draft to protect him and other prospects, but apparently did not budge from its contract valuation. Head coach John Tortorella stated earlier this offseason that Anderson will have to earn his spot on the team.

Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to confirm that the deal was done.

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