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Central Notes: Bowman, Bishop, Laine, Edmundson

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While he may not be the most popular person in Chicago lately, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman sat down with The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) in an in depth interview, going over the state of the franchise. While Bowman is aware of fans’ displeasure with the recent firing of coach Joel Quenneville as well as the state of the team’s salary cap over the past few years, Bowman said he must remain focused on the present.

“It definitely comes with the job,” Bowman said. “When you take this job, you understand that part of it is the fans have a passion for the team, which I wouldn’t want any other way. So, yeah, I don’t follow it in the sense that whatever people say, they’re going to say, and I need to do what I think is right because I believe in it. If I start getting into the weeds and trying to follow it, then it can just distract me from I have a job to do.”

Bowman did say that although many fans feel that he waited too long to trade the contract of Marian Hossa to Arizona this summer (the trade happened on July 12), but that was the first time that the Coyotes agreed to take on Hossa’s contract. Regardless, fans were upset that the team wasn’t able to use the extra $4.5MM in cap space created by that trade as most offseason work was already done by teams at that point. Bowman said he intends to be patient in using that cap space.

“The one thing you don’t want to do is just use it to just to get somebody who doesn’t really fit, and it’s going to preclude you from doing something else later,” Bowman said. “I’m not sitting on it to sit on it, but nothing has come along. Like there’s been potential trades, but the guy’s got two more years on his deal. Like he could help us in the short term, but we’re going to be able to do better than that. You just got to be patient. That’s the thought process.”

  • Mike Heika of NHL.com writes that the Dallas Stars may be close to getting back starting goaltender Ben Bishop who has been out for almost a week with a lower-body injury. Heika writes that Anton Khudobin is expected to start Tuesday in Edmonton, followed likely be Landon Bow on Wednesday in Calgary. However, the scribe writes that Bishop might be ready for the team’s game in Vancouver on Saturday. Bishop is having a impressive season with a 2.33 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 15 games.
  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that while Patrik Laine knew he’d break out of his 19-game five-on-five scoreless slump earlier this season, it did weigh on him as it wore on. However, after scoring eight of his 11 goals this week on five-on-five, Laine feels more confident than ever, but credits his new linemates’ Bryan Little and Kyle Connor for much of his success. Much of Laine’s success has been with his recent chemistry with Little. The two struggled connecting for the past two years, especially last season. Those five-on-five struggles disappeared after the team added Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, but the Laine and Little finally seem to have found that connection this year.
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson has been working hard lately to avoid penalties. In his last 11 games, Edmondson has been called for a penalty in eight of those games and the 25-year-old leads the team with 29 penalty minutes. “I think I’m getting a little wild with my stick,” Edmundson said. “Sometimes the game gets the better half of me and I take out my frustrations. I’m looking to be smarter in that department. Sometimes I get worked up a bit and anger takes over. Coach (Berube) has talked to me. I just have to settle down a bit.”

Western Notes: Davidson, Puljujarvi, Honka, Hanzal

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The Chicago Blackhawks placed veteran Brandon Davidson on injured reserve on Nov. 16 with little description other than a lower-body injury. Today, more than a week later, the Blackhawks announced that Davidson will undergo surgery on Tuesday for his right knee. No timetable will be announced until after the procedure.

Davidson signed a one-year, $650K deal with Chicago on Sept. 27, but has appeared in only seven games this year. With the development of some of their younger players such as Henri Jokiharju and Gustav Forsling finding their way into the lineup, Davidson has had trouble cracking the lineup. He had similar trouble last year, but still managed to appear in 51 games, albeit with three different teams. That included raising his stock while in Edmonton that allowed them to trade him to the New York Islanders for a 2019 third-rounder.

  • There was some surprise earlier today when the Edmonton Oilers recalled struggling forward Jesse Puljujarvi from Bakersfield of the AHL after just four games. However, the Oilers’ new head coach Ken Hitchcock accepted responsibility as he wants to further Puljujarvi’s development himself. “I wanted responsibility for his development,” Hitchcock said (via Oilers’ Jack Michaels). “I didn’t just want to be watching him play in AHL. I feel this is type of player we need to win in the Western Confernce. I asked (general manager Peter Chiarelli) if he’d bring him up for practice today.”
  • The Dallas Stars hoped this would be the year that defenseman Julius Honka might break out and develop into that top-four defenseman they’ve been waiting for. That didn’t happen. Then when John Klingberg went down, the team hoped that Honka would take that next step in replacing him. So far that doesn’t look to be happening either after sitting out as a healthy scratch Friday and seems to have been a healthy scratch often for AHL callups. So far Honka has just three assists in 18 games and isn’t the offensive force many felt that he would become, writes The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required). “We’d like to see more consistency,” head coach Jim Montgomery said Friday. “Reading rushes defensively, puck pressure down low, gets caught watching, and he’s not the only one.”
  • SportsDay’s Mike Heika reports that injured forward Martin Hanzal intends to travel with the team for their upcoming road trip, but the veteran is still a couple weeks away from returning. The 31-year-old, who signed a three-year, $14.25MM deal last summer has played in just 38 games so far and hasn’t played at all this year after undergoing spinal fusion surgery in June.

Minor Transactions: 11/22/18

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Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers in the United States, who unfortunately will not have any hockey to watch tonight. The NHL has a rare day off with no games scheduled, which will give the entire league some time to readjust their rosters. As always, we’ll keep track of all those minor moves right here.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Tyrell Goulbourne from the AHL, sending Nicolas Aube-Kubel back down in his place. Goulbourne has four points in ten games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season, adding 29 penalty minutes for good measure. Aube-Kubel meanwhile has played nine games for the Flyers without recording a point, meaning this could be a chance for him to get back on track offensively. The 22-year old forward has a huge offensive ceiling, but needs more consistent ice time to continue his development.
  • Jakub Zboril was reassigned to the AHL last night by the Boston Bruins, following the return of Kevan Miller to the lineup. That means Connor Clifton is safe for now as the team awaits the returns of Zdeno Chara, Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy. Zboril is still in the long-term plans of the Bruins, but needs to see the ice on a regular basis and not sit in the press box for the NHL team.
  • Mario Kempe has been assigned to the AHL by the Arizona Coyotes, after the team activated Alex Goligoski and Jakob Chychrun for last night’s game. Kempe has suited up four times for the Coyotes this season but is still looking for his first point. That hasn’t been a problem in the minor leagues for the 30-year old forward, who has nine points in eight games for the Tucson Roadrunners.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Reid Boucher from the minor leagues, assigning Brendan Gaunce to Utica in the process. Boucher has been a part-time player his entire career, playing just 132 games across five NHL seasons. He came to the Canucks in 2016-17 and looked like he might have a chance to contribute on a more consistent basis, but has spent more time in the minor leagues than with the NHL club.
  • Taylor Fedun was acquired by the Dallas Stars earlier this month, and today he’ll get his first recall from the minor leagues. Fedun is on his way up to take the place of Ben Gleason, who has been reassigned to the AHL. The 30-year old Fedun played just seven games in the NHL last season and has 46 contests under his belt over a long professional career.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Daniel Carr from Chicago of the AHL.  He’s taking the place of Tomas Hyka who was went down to make room for him.  Carr is the leading scorer in the minors with 22 points in 16 games and has had some success at the NHL level, collecting 16 points in 38 games with Montreal last year.  Meanwhile, Hyka has spent most of the season with Vegas, picking up a goal and three assists in 17 games.

Snapshots: Martinsson, Kovar, Niagara

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Eric Martinsson’s days with the Minnesota Wild seem to be numbered, but he’s not likely to be too upset about it. Swedish new source “Hockey News SE” reports that the Martinsson and the Wild have come to a mutual agreement that the recent free agent signing is to be placed on unconditional waivers in the near future for the purpose of terminating his contract. Martinsson, 26, signed with Minnesota back in May, looking to make the jump overseas after a successful stretch in the Swedish Hockey League with the Vaxjo Lakers. Instead of earning a spot on the NHL roster, Martinsson was in fact a relatively early cut from training camp. While the puck-moving blue liner has nine points through 13 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, he seems no closer to pushing for a chance in Minnesota than he did before the season began. As such, Martinsson would like to return home to Sweden and the Wild are expected to oblige him. Eric Martinsson is just the latest in a stream of players departing the North American minors to return to Europe this season, although Hockey New SE speculates that Martinsson’s return will be of considerable interest to many teams in the SHL.

  • Veteran forward Jan Kovar is also pondering a return to Europe. Kovar signed with the New York Islanders this summer after years of success in the KHL and in his native Czech Republic. Kovar was expected to not only compete for a job with the Isles, but potentially even center a scoring line. Instead, Kovar proved to be a poor fit with the team in camp and did not crack the starting lineup. His contract was quickly terminated, but in holding out hope for another NHL opportunity, he signed with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Kovar has nine points in ten games with Providence, while their parent club, the Boston Bruins, have struggled with injuries and consistency, but no contract offer seems to be coming. The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver now reports that Kovar has not practiced with the team in two days and is supposedly weighing overseas contract offers. Divver believes that Kovar has offers in the KHL and NLA, as well as back home in the Czech Republic, but no such opportunities in North America. Divver additionally questions whether Kovar plays with the requisite pace to succeed in the NHL, a criticism that has come up frequently during his brief efforts this season.
  • Less than 25 games into the season doesn’t seem to be too early for a blockbuster trade in the Ontario Hockey League. The Kingston Frontenacs, with just seven win thus far the second-worst record in the league, have cashed in on two of their best assets. The Niagara Ice Dogs announced today that they have acquired Jason Robertson and Jacob Paquette from Kingston. Robertson, a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2017, has back-to-back 80+ point seasons and is currently fourth among OHL scoring leaders with 38 points and second in goals with 23. Paquette, a seventh-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2017, is a big, physical defender and a locker room leader as well. Niagara is currently tied for second in the Central Division and tied for sixth overall in the league, but will almost certainly see a considerable boost from this trade. Yet, Kingston also received a king’s ransom in the deal. The Ice Dogs surrendered a total of eleven future draft picks, including three second-rounders and three third-rounders, as well as promising draft-eligible defenseman Billy Constantinou and forward Ian Martin. The Frontenacs may have disappointed their fans by virtually giving up on the season less than halfway in, but will reward them with a solid flow of talent for years to come.

Minor Transactions: 11/18/18

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After an outstanding Saturday filled with exciting finishes and huge comebacks the NHL is relatively quiet today with just five matches scheduled. Things get kicked off this afternoon between the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders, but first there will be roster moves around the league. We’ll be here to keep track of those moves:

  • The New York Rangers have reassigned Vinni Lettieri to the minor leagues, after he seemingly got benched yesterday for much of their game. Lettieri took a two-minute penalty in the first period, but ended up seeing the ice for just 4:29  in total. The 23-year old has been held scoreless in all 14 of his opportunities this season, and now will have to rediscover his game in the AHL.  They  announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Steven Fogarty from AHL Hartford to take Lettieri’s place.  He’s off to a strong start to his third full professional campaign, collecting 14 points through the first 18 games of the season.  (For reference, his career high is 20.)
  • CapFriendly reports that the Florida Panthers have recalled veteran forward Micheal Haley from a conditioning loan with the Springfield Thunderbirds after spending the first part of the season in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. Now ready to return, the veteran played two games with Springfield, putting up a goal and an assist and now is ready to return to Florida. The 32-year-old had three goals and nine points in 75 games last year. CapFriendly also reported they have recalled Dryden Hunt from Springfield, who was tearing up the AHL with eight goals in 15 games. The team countered those moves by assigning two players to Springfield, including Maxim Mamin and Denis Malgin. Mamin has played seven games with no points, while Malgin has been more successful with a goal and five points in 14 games.
  • The Los Angeles Kings announced they have recalled forward Austin Wagner from the Ontario Reign of the AHL to help fill in for injured veteran Trevor Lewis who is out week-to-week. The 21-year-old has already played eight games with Los Angeles and has no points, but has a pair of goals in five games with the Reign. The team also assigned goaltender Cole Kehler to Ontario.
  • With the Boston Bruins currently missing six defensemen due to injury and icing a starting six that includes four players expected to spend the majority of the season in the AHL, the Providence Bruins are also suffering from a dearth of defenders. The team currently rosters just three defensemen signed to NHL contracts, one of whom – Cody Goloubef – is also out with an injury. As a result, the team today brought in some reinforcements in the form of ECHL loans. Veteran pro Kyle Cumiskey of the Newfoundland Growlers and young Chris Carlisle of the nearby Manchester Monarchs have been added by Providence, per the ECHL. They join Boston-area native Desmond Bergin of the Adirondack Thunder as three on-loan players competing for ice time among a total of just seven healthy defensemen.
  • With John Gibson feeling sick, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Kevin Boyle from San Diego of the AHL.  The 26-year-old has posted a .920 save percentage so far this season, ranking sixth among AHL netminders.

Central Notes: Jost, Zadorov, Nichushkin, Kane

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With a dominant top line that includes Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, the Colorado Avalanche can’t be happier as they have combined for 75 points so far this season. However, the biggest concern for the team has been their secondary scoring, which most recently seems to have improved when the team re-inserted center Tyson Jost together with wingers Alex Kerfoot and Colin Wilson, according to Kyle Newman of the Denver Post.

Jost had spent some time with that line earlier this year, but between a demotion to the team’s fourth line and an injury that kept him out for four games, Jost finally got a chance to center the two wingers and has made the most of his opportunity with a pair of goals in the past week as well as improved play from both Wilson and Kerfoot.

“It’s tough to score every night, but I want to see them generate chances every night and I want to see them doing the right things defensively,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re starting to earn more trust on the defensive side of the puck as a young line, and they’re finding ways to chip in, and the last (few games) are a prime example.”

  • Sticking with the Avalanche, Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Bednar has lost faith for the time being in defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who led the league in hits with 278 last year and averaged 19:28 of ice time last season. However, his role has changed as he is averaging just 15:12, was benched in the third period Wednesday against Boston and then finally was a healthy scratch for the team’s game against Washington on Friday. “We’ve got some D that are playing well,” Bednar said. “Like I said, we’ve got the depth at D now, seven (defensemen) and sometimes you gotta make tough decisions. … Sometimes that means moving around the lineup, elevating guys, lowering guys in the lineup with their minutes. Other times it means you have to make tough decisions and scratch some guys. That’s what we did with Nikita. He’s going to get an opportunity to go back in and continue to play. We’ll see how the game goes.”
  • Dallas Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin hasn’t scored an NHL goal in 989 days. Granted, he just spent the last two season in the KHL, which has something to do with that statistic. However, Nichushkin went 26 combined regular season and playoff games without scoring back in 2016 and now has gone 14 straight goalless games this season, according to SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks. His struggles are not stopping him, however. “Tough start, but I feel better every game, especially the last three games, I had a lot of moments,” Nichushkin said. “I need to score and I think everything will be good. Team’s winning so I don’t care. I know I will be better.”
  • Chicago Blackhawks new head coach Jeremy Colliton has utilized the strategy of playing Patrick Kane as much as possible since he’s taken over, but another interesting stat is that Colliton has used Kane almost entirely on the power play, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield. In fact, Kane has been used for 16:50 of power play time under Colliton in a total of 17:52, an unbelievable usage rate for a 30-year-old player. “I don’t think it’s been a problem so far, and I think the power play’s moving in the right direction,” Colliton said. “I thought the power play was better tonight than it was against St. Louis, but we scored against St. Louis so it (wasn’t) a talking point. We’ve just got to work on it.”

John Klingberg And Connor Carrick To Miss More Time Than Expected

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  • While the hope was that Stars defenseman John Klingberg would only miss a month, that timeline has been extended already. Head coach Jim Montgomery told Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that his top blueliner will be out at least five weeks and potentially more.  Meanwhile, Connor Carrick was expected to miss roughly three weeks as of late October due to a lower-body injury but DeFranks notes he’s still a few weeks away from returning which suggests he’s behind schedule in his recovery.  Fortunately for Dallas, Marc Methot is nearing a return and could play as early as Wednesday.

Minor Transactions: 11/17/18

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As usual, Saturday is a busy day on the schedule with 22 teams in action so there will likely be considerable roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.

  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Eric Gryba from AHL Binghamton. To make room for him on the roster, they placed blueliner Sami Vatanen on injured reserve retroactive to Thursday.  Gryba has been up and down so far this season; he made the team out of training camp but was waived in mid-October and this will be his second stint with New Jersey since clearing.
  • With their goaltending depth quickly getting depleted with their top three options injured or sick, the Kings have inked veteran Michael Leighton to a minor league PTO per a team release from their AHL affiliate in Ontario. The 37-year-old has yet to play this season and spent time in three different organizations in 2017-18.  CapFriendly adds via Twitter that Cole Kehler, who was brought up on an emergency recall on Friday, has been sent back to Ontario.
  • The Coyotes announced that they’ve recalled center Mario Kempe from AHL Tucson. The 30-year-old has been quite productive in the minors with nine points in eight games while he has also seen action in four games with Arizona this season where he has been held off the scoresheet.  To make room for him on the roster, Jason Demers was transferred to injured reserve.
  • The Sharks have recalled center Dylan Gambrell from the minors and assigned center Rourke Chartier to San Jose of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions Page.  Chartier has just a single goal in 13 games with the Sharks this season so he’ll go down with the hopes that some more ice time at the lower level will help him rediscover his scoring touch.  Meanwhile, Gambrell has been productive in his limited time with the Barracuda, recording six points in seven games.  He also has one game with the big club where he failed to record a point.
  • Dallas announced that they have brought up defenseman Ben Gleason and center Roope Hintz from Texas of the AHL.  Hintz leads their affiliate in points per game (1.22) and has seen action in five games with the big club this season although he has been held without a point.  Meanwhile, Gleason made his NHL debut last weekend but was returned to Texas on Tuesday.  He has fared quite well at the minor league level in his rookie campaign, collecting eight points in 13 games.
  • With their road trip now complete, the Maple Leafs have returned winger Trevor Moore to the AHL’s Marlies.  Moore has been up twice with the NHL team so far this season but has yet to play in a game.  He has been quite productive in the minors though, collecting a dozen points (including nine goals) in as many games to start his season.
  • The Penguins announced that they’ve re-assigned winger Garrett Wilson back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.  The move was made to free up a roster spot for center Derick Brassard as he was activated off injured reserve.  Wilson played in four games with Pittsburgh, his first NHL action since the 2015-16 season with Florida.

John Moore Out, Bruins To Debut Two Rookie Defensemen

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When GM Don Sweeney and the Boston Bruins front office were looking ahead to this season, they were anticipating a strong starting six on defense with veteran depth and promising rookies in reserve. A quarter of the way through the season, the Bruins have yet to play a game with all six of their projected starters: Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo, Kevan Miller, and free agent addition John Moore. Instead, the team has rotated through ten different defensemen due to continuous injury issues. Tonight, they’ll add two more.

In the Bruins’ Wednesday night game against the Colorado Avalanche, they lost captain Chara to an apparent knee injury. He joined McAvoy (concussion), Carlo (upper-body), Miller (hand), and rookie Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) on the shelf. Then today, Moore was unexpectedly absent from morning skate and the team announced that he was day-to-day with a lower-body injury of his own. The loss leaves the Bruins with just one starter – Krug – in the lineup and missing all of their regular right-side defenders. Krug and Matt Grzelcyk are the only active defensemen who played a game for Boston last season.

When the Bruins take on the Dallas Stars tonight – and likely Saturday at the Arizona Coyotes as well – they will roll out a defensive corps that includes three rookies. Jeremy Lauzon has skated in six games with Boston already and the team announced that Jakub Zboril and Connor Clifton will make their NHL debuts tonight. Zboril, 21, is a 2015 first-round pick who has been slow to develop but has been a capable shutdown defender in the AHL. Clifton, 23, was a college free agent out of Quinnipiac University who signed with the Providence Bruins last year and earned an NHL contract with his play. While all three rookies have shown promise, they hardly seem equipped to play the roles expected of them early on in their NHL careers. The current Bruins defensive figuration has just 667 career NHL games to their credit and just 262 not counting Krug. Boston needs some luck and strong outings by Tuukka Rask tonight and Jaroslav Halak tomorrow to survive this unbelievable injury bug.

Minor Transactions: 11/15/18

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It’s a busy Thursday night in the NHL with nine games on tap, and plenty will be focused on a prime Eastern Conference matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. Unfortunately both teams may be without key components as Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sidney Crosby are both dealing with injuries. As teams prepare for the weekend, we’ll be right here to keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Patrick Russell from the minor leagues, giving the Danish forward his first chance at NHL action. Russell has nine points in his first 11 games for the Bakerfield Condors this season, after really finding his footing at the professional level in 2017-18. The former St. Cloud State standout could give the Oilers another option up front, though it’s not clear yet whether he’ll be inserted right away.
  • Gavin Bayreuther is getting a chance with the Dallas Stars after plenty of solid work in the minor leagues, and could be part of a solution for the missing John Klingberg. Bayreuther has five points in seven games for the Texas Stars, and proved last season that he can be an effective puck-mover at the AHL level. Marc Methot has also been moved to injured reserve for the Stars, though that move is likely retroactive to Methot’s last game on November 1st.
  • The St. Louis Blues have placed Brayden Schenn on injured reserve and recalled Sammy Blais in his place. Blais started the season with the Blues, but went scoreless in eight games. The 22-year old forward has been fairly snake-bitten at the minor league level as well, registering just two points in nine games. Schenn’s IR stint is retroactive to November 3rd, meaning he can be activated at any time.
  • With the flu making its way through the Columbus Blue Jackets dressing room, the team has recalled Zac Dalpe and Jean-Francois Berube under emergency conditions. Artemi Panarin, Riley Nash and Sergei Bobrovsky are not expected to play tonight, while Gabriel Carlsson has been reassigned to the Cleveland Monsters. Dalpe has been excellent this season for the Monsters, scoring 12 goals and 19 points in just 14 games.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have a new face in the dressing room as Dakota Mermis has been recalled before tonight’s game against the Nashville Predators. The Coyotes moved Alex Goligoski to injured reserve to make room for Mermis, who was recently named captain of the Tucson Roadrunners.

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