Snapshots: Tropp, Kruger, Blue Jackets
Just a day after bringing him up, the Anaheim Ducks have decides that Corey Tropp will head back to San Diego and the AHL. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports, the journeyman winger will head back to the AHL without a taste of NHL action. As mentioned yesterday when he was called up, Tropp hasn’t gotten a crack at the NHL level in more than two seasons, despite establishing himself as a regular on the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2013-15. The 27-year old Tropp is having a fantastic season for the San Diego Gulls, with 29 points in 32 games.
- While the Blackhawks are starting the rumor mill early this year with their reported interest in a pair of Red Wings, they might be getting some help back off the injured list sooner than later. Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago reports today that Marcus Kruger is “pretty close” and will hopefully return this week before the All-Star break. Injured on December 30th, Kruger was originally expected to miss only three weeks but faced a setback that has kept him out a bit longer. The Hawks miss his defensive presence and ability on the penalty kill, and will welcome him back with open arms. The team is now just two points back of the Minnesota Wild for first place in the Central division, but have played 48 games already – three more than the Wild. Firmly entrenched in a playoff spot – the team sits 12 points ahead of the third place Nashville Predators – the Blackhawks will be looking to add depth to their roster for another playoff run.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that both David Savard and Markus Nutivaara are out for the Blue Jackets’ game tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Dalton Prout and Scott Harrington will figure in as the bottom pair. The team is being very hush-hush on Savard’s injury, only saying it occurred in Thursday’s game when he left in the third period. Quietly, Savard is having another excellent season for Columbus, logging over 21 minutes a night, second on the team behind Seth Jones. The 26-year old is locked up long-term on a very tidy contract, earning $4.25MM annually until 2020-21. While he doesn’t get the press that Jones or Zach Werenski get, he’s an integral part of a group of young defenders (26 and under) that Columbus will ride for the next number of years.
Seravalli’s Latest: Team Priorities Leading To The Trade Deadline
In his latest column, TSN’s Frank Seravalli looks at all 30 NHL teams (plus a note about the Vegas Golden Knights) and what their priorities are as they get closer to the deadline. The whole article is well worth the read but here is a sampling of some of the highlights:
- While the Sabres are likely to move pending unrestricted free agents Cody Franson and Brian Gionta, center Zemgus Girgensons (who is set to be a restricted free agent) could be someone teams look at as a reclamation project. Girgensons had a breakout year under former coach Ted Nolan in 2014-15 but has struggled since Dan Bylsma has taken over. His role has considerably diminished this season which makes him an intriguing ‘change of scenery’ candidate.
- The Blue Jackets could be poised to strike on what is shaping up to be a buyers’ market when it comes to goaltending. Given where the team finds themselves, Seravalli suggests that they may want a more proven backup behind Sergei Bobrovsky. Youngsters Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo are poised to battle for the number two job with Curtis McElhinney now in Toronto but neither have much NHL experience. One possible hiccup for Columbus could be the fact that a lot of the goalies believed to be available are signed beyond this season which may not appeal to them given the progress that Forsberg and Korpisalo have shown.
- Although the Red Wings don’t appear to be entering selling mode any time soon, one area that GM Ken Holland may look to improve on is their cap situation. They have roughly $68MM committed for next year already (though Johan Franzen’s $3.95MM cap hit is including and he’ll be back on LTIR) and have a few restricted free agents including forwards Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou. If they want to entertain the idea of keeping pending UFA Thomas Vanek around, they’ll need to free up some money and this might be the right time to accomplish that.
- Seravalli wonders if this might be the year for the Senators to consider dealing away their first round pick. With Clarke MacArthur’s concussion symptoms not subsiding as quickly as anyone hoped, there is a void on the left side that needs to be addressed and their trade assets (such as Curtis Lazar and Nick Paul) won’t be enough by themselves to secure a legitimate top winger.
- With the Canucks not likely to really be buyers or sellers at the deadline, they could be a team in the market for a reclamation project or two to try along the Sedins, similar to what Edmonton did with Patrick Maroon last year, a move that has worked out quite well this season. However, considering that they’re unwilling to move draft picks this year, being able to bring a player like that in may prove to be a bit more difficult.
East Notes: Sparks, Shaw, Hrivik
The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent emergency call-up Garret Sparks back to the minors, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic. The team brought him up as insurance yesterday when it seemed like Curtis McElhinney might not be able to play. The former Blue Jackets goalie did play however, and played quite well in the Leafs’ 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. The Maple Leafs have now gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 and vaulted themselves into a playoff spot in the Atlantic division. They’re ahead of the Senators on the tiebreaker, and have played five less games than their next target, the Boston Bruins.
McElhinney seemed to debut quite admirably in the Maple Leafs net, that has had trouble finding a backup goaltender this season. Young phenom Auston Matthews gave all the credit post-game to McElhinney, saying that he kept them in it with some huge saves.
- Andrew Shaw was ejected from last night’s Montreal Canadiens-New York Rangers game after a brutal hit on Jesper Fast. While fans around the game agreed it was both late and should be considered head-hunting, Shaw disagrees. Amanda Stein of TSN caught up with the Habs forward today and got his take on it. Shaw told her he disagrees with the decision to throw him out, and hasn’t received a call from NHL Player Safety about it. He apparently did his best for it to be shoulder-to-shoulder, but did admit it was “maybe half a second late”. We’ll hear later today if there is any supplemental discipline for Shaw, who only returned to the Montreal lineup last night.
- After the New York Rangers placed Marek Hrivik on waivers earlier today, Steve Zipay of Newsday says it’ll be the end for him in New York for the time being. He’ll be headed back to Hartford to make room for the “imminent return” of Mike Zibanejad. Zipay also mentions the need for a backup goaltender on Tuesday, as Antti Raanta is out with an injury.
Washington Capitals Recall Chandler Stephenson
After their 6-0 shellacking of the Chicago Blackhawks last night, the Washington Capitals have recalled Chandler Stephenson from the AHL. He’ll serve as the 13th forward and insurance against any last minute injuries on their upcoming road trip. After tomorrow’s game against Philadelphia in the afternoon, the Caps will head to Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Dallas.
The former third-round pick is having another successful season in the AHL with 23 points in 36 games. Last season, Stephenson played nine games with the Capitals but was held scoreless. While he did have a lot of scoring success late in his junior career – 89 points in 2013-14 – he’s known as more of a two-way center capable of playing on the penalty kill.
The team remains in second place in the Metropolitan division, unable to quite catch the dominant Columbus Blue Jackets. The Capitals are on an eight game winning streak and are showing why they won the President’s Trophy last season.
Blue Jackets Add Anton Forsberg On Emergency Conditions
Despite having sent him down just Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets have executed an emergency recall of goaltender Anton Forsberg from the AHL. He’ll back up Joonas Korpisalo against the Florida Panthers tonight.
With Sergei Bobrovsky still fighting an illness, the team is without two NHL goaltenders. Curtis McElhinney was lost on waivers this week to the Toronto Maple Leafs, when it seemed that Forsberg had taken over the backup role. In the meantime, Forsberg was sent down to start last night’s game for the Cleveland Monsters (one in which he stopped 24 of 26 saves for a win) but has now returned.
Forsberg and Korpisalo both represent solid goaltending prospects, but with Korpisalo’s younger age and higher draft pedigree it was assumed he would stay in the AHL to start as many games as possbile to continue his development. With Bobrovsky out though, those starts are happening at the NHL level. Last night, he allowed just a single goal 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, continuing the strong play he’s shown in his short NHL stints. Last year, the 22-year old Korpisalo was forced to play in 31 games for the Blue Jackets, putting up an excellent .920 save percentage.
Forsberg on the other hand has gotten into just 10 NHL games in his career, faring rather poorly. While he is still just 24-years old himself and has shown elite ability at the AHL level, is seems he’s rightly fixed behind Korpisalo on the depth chart. He may however stay up when Bobrovsky returns as the team’s full-time backup. Aaron Portzline reports that the team has sent Bobrovsky back to Columbus, where he will likely practice with the team on Monday.
Atlantic Notes: Beleskey, Leafs, St. Louis
Since being injured on December 6th, Matt Beleskey hasn’t skated with the team once – until now. Beleskey returned to practice today to the cheers of his teammates, though he still was in a non-contact sweater. According to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, the 28-year old winger was skating alongside David Krejci and David Backes when he did get into some rushes; otherwise that spot went to Frank Vatrano.
Beleskey was originally given a six-week timeline, which would be up on Tuesday, which looks like a possibility for the Bruins forward. Late next week might be more realistic, with Friday against Chicago being a likely target.
- The Maple Leafs are back in action tonight after their bye week, and new backup Curtis McElhinney will wear #35 according to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. The Maple Leafs claimed McElhinney off waivers and are expected to give him his first start tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators.
- The Maple Leafs are playing tonight at Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers are honoring Steven McDonald, a former police officer who passed away Tuesday. He had been a big fan of the Rangers since he was shot in the line of duty 20 years ago, and the team honored him by wearing throwback sweaters in warm-up that had #104 on the back – the number of McDonald’s precinct. McDonald was paralyzed from the neck down in the shooting, but instead of despair he has spread a message of forgiveness since his injury. Adam Graves and Mark Messier were on hand to escort McDonald’s wife and son to center ice.
- In other pre-game ceremony news, the Tampa Bay Lightning retired Martin St. Louis‘ number tonight with former head coach John Tortorella on hand to speak (Torts’ Columbus Blue Jackets are in town to face the Lightning). “He is a man who has been told ‘no’ so many times in his career… I just have so much respect for him in how he did it.” Steven Stamkos also spoke about St. Louis, saying “He was, he still is, and he forever will be the heart and soul of this organization.”
Biggest One-For-One Trades Of The Past 10 Years
For the first time since his shocking trade last June, Taylor Hall is facing off in Edmonton on Thursday night.
The Oilers-Devils trade was one of two major one-for-one trades that took place that day, the other being P.K. Subban for Shea Weber just 17 minutes later. Despite the evidence of June 29, one-for-one trades are exceedingly rare in today’s NHL.
In honor of Hall’s return to Edmonton, let’s take a look at some of the more notable one-for-one swaps of the past decade:
February 26, 2008 – Andrew Ladd for Tuomo Ruutu — The Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes swapped former top-ten picks at the 2007-08 trade deadline. Nearly nine years later, the trade can be classified as a win for the Blackhawks: Ruutu did score 216 points in 378 games with the Hurricanes but the team only made the playoffs once in his tenure there. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks were just two years away from winning the first Stanley Cup of their modern dynasty; with a Stanley Cup already under his belt, Ladd played a key role in helping the young Hawks learn how to win. Ladd scored 99 points 184 games in Chicago before being sacrificed to the Salary Cap Gods after their 2010 championship.
July 3, 2011 – Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat — Heatley and Havlat were both superstars of the early 21st-century, but neither player was at that level in 2011 when the Sharks and Wild made this trade. The Sharks were looking to improve their roster with hopes of getting to the Stanley Cup Finals after yet another playoff disappointment, but Havlat appeared in just eight playoff games over three years in San Jose. He never played more than 48 games in a season, or scored more than 27 points. Heatley had 82 and 64 points in his two years in San Jose, but was unable to consistently score in Minnesota, finishing his three-year stint with a 28-point season, his last full season in the NHL. Heatley also caused salary cap troubles, as he was unable to be bought-out after his second season due to injury, costing the Wild their last chance to use a compliance buyout on the declining Heatley.
June 23, 2012 – James Van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn — Maple Leafs fans hoping for their team to trade Van Riemsdyk for a top defenseman may want to look at the trade that brought the power winger to Toronto. Then-GM Brian Burke traded Schenn, a right-handed third-pairing defenseman just four seasons removed from being the fifth-overall selection. Both players were coming off down seasons, as Schenn struggled in a third-pairing role while Van Riemsdyk scored 24 points in 43 games after a 40-point sophomore season. The trade was a clear win for Toronto, as Van Riemsdyk has 211 points in 289 games as a first-line winger while Schenn scored 42 points in 213 games in Philadelphia as a below-average possession player. Schenn was traded last season and signed a cheap show-me deal with Arizona as a UFA. The trade is yet another example of the trade values of average defensemen and scoring wingers.
January 6, 2016 – Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen — The major trade was the first big one-for-one trade in nearly four years, and was a sign of things yet to come in 2016. While it’s too early to declare a definitive winner, as both teams look like they got what they needed with the swap, the early results put Columbus slightly ahead. Jones has 38 points in 75 games so far with the surprising Blue Jackets, who currently sit in first place in NHL standings. The Predators haven’t been as successful as they would have hoped, though Johansen has 63 points in 83 games in Music City. He’s growing into a legitimate first-line center on a contending team, which is what the Predators hoped for when they made the swap. Nashville GM David Poile was initially criticized for trading his young defenseman as Shea Weber showed signs of regression, but that was addressed by on of the below trades.
June 29, 2016 – Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson — The decision to trade Hall was not popular at the time, and is still the most talked-about trade in Edmonton since Chris Pronger asked for a trade in 2006. The Oilers have finally turned the corner and currently sit in third in the Pacific Division. Larsson is a big part of the much-improved defense core, but has just seven points in 43 games. Hall is leading the Devils in scoring with 25 points in 32 games, but the Devils’ offense has not been able to outscore their defensive issues. It must be frustratingly familiar for Hall, who was in a similar situation in Edmonton for six seasons. While the Oilers gave up value, it could be argued that the Devils miss Larsson’s defensive ability more than Edmonton misses Hall’s offence.
June 29, 2016 — Shea Weber for P.K. Subban — After a tough 2015-16, changes were expected in Montreal. But few expected Subban to be the one to go. Like the Hall-Larsson trade made 17 minutes earlier, the Canadian team was panned initially. However, Weber is on pace for a career-high in points while the Canadiens have rebounded to lead the Atlantic Division at the half-way point. Unfortunately for Subban, he’s been injured for much of the season and may require surgery. The Canadiens are the winners of this trade six months in, but considering the four years Weber has on Subban, the verdict will slowly change over the next few years. If either one of these teams win a Stanley Cup in the next few years, that would likely be the deciding factor in naming a winner.
Most Man-Games Missed At Midway Point
While the headlines follow teams missing multiple major contributors to injury – case in point the resilient 2016-17 Montreal Canadiens, whose injury issues have been well-documented – there’s an argument to be made that losing a greater amount of depth players is in fact more detrimental to a team’s success, even if it doesn’t garner as much attention. ESPN’s Matthew Coller examined the amount of ice time, in man-game minutes, lost this season due to injury and the resulting success or failure of the most injured and most healthy teams. Despite the story line, the Canadiens only rank tenth right now in missed minutes, perhaps providing some explanation to how they have maintained their winning ways despite being banged up. Other teams have not been so lucky.
Of the five most injured teams in the first half of 2016-17, four have drastically underachieved, even though you might not suspect that they have had such bad injury struggles. At the top of the list is the Detroit Red Wings, whose historic playoff streak is in extreme jeopardy as they sit in the basement of the Atlantic Division through 40 games. Two of their season’s biggest bright spots have also been two of their largest injury concerns, as 11 games were missed by leading scorer Thomas Vanek, signed to a one-year “show me” deal this summer, and resurgent goalie Jimmy Howard is on the shelf for the second time already and expected to be out until February. Add in a long, ongoing absence of Darren Helm and off-and-on issues with defenseman Brendan Smith among other injuries, and the Red Wings lead the league with 3,122 minutes missed. Few have pointed to injuries as the main reason for Detroit’s dismal showing, but there’s evidence to express that it may be the primary influence. Backing up the claim are the struggles of the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, and Winnipeg Jets as well, all of whom have suffered noteworthy injuries, but also an excess of depth injuries as well. These four teams are all performing below what was expected of them in 2016-17, and injuries may be the prime source of blame. Only the Edmonton Oilers have bucked the trend, as they have been able to survive numerous serious injuries to their defenseman and are having their best season in recent memory with the second most man-games missed in the entire league.
Aside from the Washington Capitals (who have been impossibly healthy with just 10 games and about 170 minutes missed) and San Jose Sharks at #1 and #2, two teams who seemingly have not had issues with major injuries in recent years, a lack of man-games missed can certainly make a case as a vital ingredient to the success of overachieving teams this season. Rounding out the top five are the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Carolina Hurricanes, all of whom have lost less than 1,000 minutes to injury and all of whom are surely big surprises thus far in 2016-17. No one could have expected the Blue Jackets to hold the NHL’s best record at this point, nobody guessed that the Senators would be contenders in the Atlantic, and many picked the Hurricanes to be the worst team in the league. Even though Ottawa has seen Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone all miss time and Carolina just got Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm back from injury, the overall roster-wide health is what has kept these teams afloat. All three rosters could easily be exposed by a string of long-term injuries, but they have been able to make it this far without encountering such loss and it has boosted them to the positions they are currently in.
Many teams have had recent success with top-heavy lineups containing a handful of stars and relative no-names as filler (read: Chicago Blackhawks), and there’s no reason to believe that doesn’t work. However, these injury trends seem to show that missing time as a whole due to injury instead of injuries to individual top players is what can derail a team. A team built with depth in mind can combat the loss of two, three, or four starters, but a top-heavy team can struggle to replace one star, nevertheless multiple full-time contributors. The man-games missed to success correlation is an interesting concept for team builders to follow and understand. It’s a risk-reward scenario, and several teams this season are showing the extremes of success and failure as a function of injury.
Maple Leafs Claim Curtis McElhinney Off Waivers
As expected, veteran goaltender Curtis McElhinney did not survive his trip to waivers. When it was reported that the Columbus Blue Jackets’ long-time backup had been replaced by young Anton Forsberg, it was immediately clear that there would be some interest in his services. To no surprise, the goalie-needy Toronto Maple Leafs scooped up the 33-year-old backstop, who will assume the role of backup to Frederik Andersen in Toronto, likely for the remainder of the season.
In nine NHL seasons, spent mostly as a backup for the Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets, McElhinney has had his ups and downs. Ironically, 2016-17 has been the journeyman’s best season to date. In seven appearances, McElhinney has a .924 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average, well above his career marks of .905 and 2.96 and career-highs for a season in which he’s played in more than two games. It’s been a nice bounce-back season for Sergei Bobrovsky‘s understudy, as McElhinney struggled last season, posting an .890 SV% and 3.31 GAA in 18 games. However, with the NHL’s best record and another remarkable season from Bobrovsky, the Blue Jackets felt they could risk losing McElhinney, despite his return to success, if it meant they could give more ice time to NHL-ready prospects Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo.
Columbus’ loss is Toronto’s gain, as the upstart Maple Leafs may have found the backup goalie they’ve desperately needed. Their newly-acquired starter Andersen has been solid thus far, but fellow summer acquisition Jhonas Enroth was a bust, posting a dismal .872 SV% and 3.94 GAA in six appearances before losing his job. His replacement, rookie Antoine Bibeau, has been spectacular in his two starts with a .927 SV% and 1.98 GAA, but sitting on the bench for the Leafs is detrimental to the development of the Marlies starter. Toronto’s other 22-year-old, Garret Sparks, has not been given a chance this season after stuggling as the Leafs’ backup in 2015-16. The acquisition of a seasoned veteran like McElhinney, especially when it’s at no cost to the team, is exactly what Toronto needed.
Minor Transactions: 1/10/17
In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to shake up their roster. After sending Erik Condra and Adam Erne back down to the AHL yesterday, the team has recalled forward Gabriel Dumont from the Syracuse Crunch today. The 26-year-old center is in his first season with Tampa Bay, after signing a deal with the team this summer, but has yet to make his Lightning debut. It is expected that he will get the opportunity to do so when the Bolts return to action on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres. Dumont has not played an NHL games since February 2015, and in total has a goal and two assists in 18 NHL games with his former team, his hometown Montreal Canadiens. Dumont has ten points in 19 games for the Crunch so far in 2016-17.
Meanwhile, Tampa also made a move in net, sending down backup Adam Wilcox and replacing him with highly-touted prospect Kristers Gudlevskis. This could signal the end of Andrei Vasilevskiy ‘s long run without a rest. Since Ben Bishop went down with injury, Vasilevskiy has started ten games in a row and the Lightning have allowed six goals in three of those last four starts. Wilcox did not make an appearance in his stint with the team, but considering the diminishing returns of Vasilevskiy, it would seem likely that Gudlevskis gets the chance. The young Latvian keeper has made just one NHL appearance per year in three of the past four seasons, missing out on his annual try in 2014-15 and coming in as a late-game replacement earlier this year. Though a small sample size, Gudlevskis has a stunning .959 save percentage and 1.37 goals against average in those few appearances. Though Vasilevskiy is on a three-day break and Bishop appears close to returning (back at practice today), expect Gudlevskis to get a shot while in Tampa and have his first multi-game NHL season.
Update (4pm CT): Forget all of that about Gudlevskis getting to make an appearance on this trip to Tampa. Less than 12 hours after recalling the minor league goalie, the Lightning have returned him to the Syracuse Crunch. This means that the Bolts coaches liked what they saw out of Bishop today and expect the star keeper to be back in action sooner than predicted. Heading back to the AHL with Gudlevskis is defenseman Slater Koekkoek, the 2012 first-rounder who is still trying to carve out a role for himself with the Lightning. Koekkoek has already far surpassed his career high in games with 29 on the season, but has little to show for it with four assists and a -4 rating. He’s continually been shifted in an out of the lineup and has now been demoted to Syracuse for the eighth time this season.
In other moves:
- The Nashville Predators have promoted forward Pontus Aberg to the NHL squad, as the rookie winger has been nearly a point-per-game player for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals this season. He has already earned nine games with Nashville so far, but has just one goal and one assist to show for it. The Predators hope he can bring his minor league scoring touch to the big leagues and stick around for a longer stint this time around. The 2012 second-round pick has had a strong AHL career, but had not developed a complete enough game for the NHL level until this season, as least in the eyes of GM David Poile.
- As speculated yesterday, the Calgary Flames have recalled defenseman Brett Kulak from the Stockton Heat. In a corresponding move, Tyler Wotherspoon is headed back to the AHL. The 23-year-old Kulak has bounced back and forth this season, but has already played in a career-high 15 NHL contests. He has three assists in that span, and a goal and four assists in 11 games with Stockton. Wotherspoon has been held scoreless in four NHL games this season, and has six points in 20 AHL games so far. The 2011 second-round pick has not developed as the Flames would like and has seen his small role somehow decrease over the past few seasons.
- A day after placing veteran goalie Curtis McElhinney on waivers (and subsequently losing him) and re-calling young Anton Forsberg, the Blue Jackets were forced to promote Joonas Korpisalo today as starter Sergei Bobrovsky is sick and unable to go tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Forsberg will start tonight’s game, with Korpisalo as the backup.
- The Buffalo Sabres have placed forward Derek Grant on waivers. The journeyman center has played in 35 games already with the Sabres, but has only three assists to show for it. A team still looking for their identity, Buffalo is better served playing their own home-grown young talent rather than mediocre veterans, likely promting Grant’s movement.
- Andrej Nestrasil has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, reports Carolina Hurricanes GM Ron Francis. The Hurricanes have been busy on the waiver wire this season, including both claiming and losing Detroit’s Martin Frk and recently adding former St. Louis Blue Ty Rattie. Given Nestrasil’s age and his decent output in each of the last two seasons, as well as the fact that the only other player on waivers, McElhinney, was claimed, Carolina is lucky that this waiver transaction wasn’t yet another newsworthy one.
- As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled defenseman Andrey Pedan from the Utica Comets of the AHL. With Ben Hutton joing the laundry list of out or injured Canucks blue liners, Pedan can expect an extended stay in Vancouver, which needs all the defensive depth it can get right now.
- With T.J. Oshie ready to return to the Capitals lineup, Washington has returned forwards Paul Carey and Liam O’Brien to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. While both forwards are having good seasons in the AHL with 25 and 18 points respectively in 28 games apiece, neither has managed to turn minor league success into any NHL production. The duo have combined for four points total in 42 combined games over the past four seasons.
More to come