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Atlantic Notes: Toronto’s Goalies, Carrick, Kronwall, Joseph

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a tough decision in front of them in net as head coach Mike Babcock and general manager Kyle Dubas must decide who will be their backup goalie as the team still has four goalies on their training camp roster, including starter Frederik Andersen, incumbent backup Curtis McElhinney as well as AHL stars Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard, according to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star.

That could be a bigger decision than thought despite the solid season that McElhinney had last year. The 35-year-old posted a 2.14 GAA and a .934 save percentage in 18 games last year, but is on the final year of a team-friendly contract ($850K) and could conceivably cost the team, expected to have cap problems starting next season, quite a bit next season. Sparks, on the other hand, will just be a restricted free agent next season after posting impressive numbers for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the Calder Cup champions, when the 25-year-old posted a 1.79 GAA in 43 games with a .936 save percentage. Pickard, thought to be the future of the Vegas Golden Knights, is also on the roster.

The fear is the team would likely lose Sparks if they place him on waivers to send him to the AHL, which might force the team to decide which player they would rather have, not just this season, but as their future long-term backup. Pickard, who was a backup in Colorado two years ago, could also be lost as well if they decide to place him on waivers.

  • McGran, in the same story, adds that the Maple Leafs are also looking to trade a few of their players, most notably defenseman Connor Carrick, who the team fears they will lose if they place him on waivers. Carrick got into 47 games last season, posting four goals and 12 points, but could be highly coveted by teams with defensive issues such as the Vancouver Canucks or even the Detroit Red Wings.
  • The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan writes that veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall tweaked something in practice and now is questionable for the team’s season opener, joining Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley as questionable for Thursday. Mike Green is already considered out. With those potential losses, Detroit will have to depend on their plethora of young defensemen to fill in. Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that defenseman Dennis Cholowski has already won a spot on the team’s defense, but Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Libor Sulak all could stay depending on those injuries.
  • While there is no specific word on whether or not he’s made the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s expected that rookie Mathieu Joseph is a top candidate to make the team, according to Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times. Joseph stands out the most with a preseason high of four goals. The scribe describes Joseph as a future star, who could come out of no where such as Brayden Point.

2018-19 Season Primer: Dallas Stars

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With the NHL season now less than a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Dallas Stars.

Last Season: 42-32-8 record (92 points), sixth in the Central Division (missed the playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $4,445,835 per CapFriendly

Key Additions: F Blake Comeau (free agent, Colorado), F Erik Condra (free agent, Tampa Bay), D Joel Hanley (free agent, Arizona), G Anton Khudobin (free agent, Boston), F Michael Mersch (free agent, Los Angeles), D Roman Polak (free agent, Toronto).

Key Subtractions: D Andrew Bodnarchuk (free agent, Red Bull Munchen, DEL), F Brian Flynn (free agent, St. Louis), D Dan Hamhuis (free agent, Nashville), G Mike McKenna (free agent, Ottawa), F Curtis McKenzie (free agent, Vegas), D Greg Pateryn (free agent, Minnesota), F Antoine Roussel (free agent, Vancouver),

[Related: Stars Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: F Tyler Seguin — The Stars have placed all their faith in Seguin to lead the team to the playoffs and beyond this summer when they signed the 26-year-old to an eight-year, $78.8MM extension this summer. While that $9.85MM AAV doesn’t kick in until the 2019-20 season, the team hopes that Seguin is finally ready to take that next step as an NHL elite player.

The center did post a 40-goal season for the first time in his career, but he has only surpassed 80 points once in his career. While he is expected to man the top line once again alongside veteran Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov, the team hopes he can take that next step and be a consistent 80 or 90-point player the team truly needs.

Key Storyline: What the team needs more than anything is secondary depth at forward. While the first line was impressive offensively, the remaining lines were the opposite of that as few players stepped up and showed they can score goals. The team had hopes last year that players such as Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Jason Spezza and Martin Hanzal would make up the remaining bulk of the scoring, but none of them did. While Faksa’s defensive game took big strides, he still posted just 33 points last season. Ritchie was even worse, posting just seven goals and 14 points. Spezza’s game went down as well, going from 50 points in 2016-17 to 26 points last year, while Hanzal struggled with injuries all season.

This year, the team has hopes that they can get a solid return from 23-year-old Valeri Nichushkin, who played the last two years in the KHL, and now returns. They still hope Spezza can bounce back, while the team has high hopes that Mattias Janmark, Faksa, Tyler Pitlick and Comeau can increase that scoring. Whether that will happen is questionable as Nichushkin put up very pedestrian numbers in the KHL while he was away, so assuming he posts big numbers seems unlikely, while the 35-year-old Spezza will have to prove that the game hasn’t passed him by.

Overall Outlook: While the goaltending seems to be more solidified as the team replaced backup Kari Lehtonen with Khudobin, who should be a better stopgap if starter Ben Bishop goes down with another inconvenient injury and a much stronger defense with the addition of 19-year-old Miro Heiskanen and a more confident Julius Honka, the team has a solid defense behind him. Add in a new coach in Jim Montgomery, the team has a lot of promise, but where that offense will come from is a question that the team will have to prove if they have any chance in competing in a very competitive Central Division.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/30/18

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It’s the last day of September and the start of the regular season is mere days away. Final cuts are looming and the decisions are going to get much tougher. While the drama really lies with the waiver wire over the next few days, keep track here of all the players otherwise sent down right here:

Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)

F Justin Bailey (to Rochester, AHL)
F Nicholas Baptiste (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via CapFriendly)

F Patrick Brown (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Greg McKegg (to Charlotte, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (per CapFriendly)

G Collin Delia (to Rockford, AHL)
F Dylan Sikura (to Rockford, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

G Jean-Francois Berube (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Tommy Cross (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Zac Dalpe (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Dan DeSalvo (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Nathan Gerbe (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Miles Koules (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Mark Letestu (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Ryan MacInnis (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Michael Prapavessis (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Dillon Simpson (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Sam Vigneault (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Justin Wade (to Cleveland, AHL)

Dallas Stars (via Mark Stepneski of NHL.com)

F Erik Condra (to Texas, AHL)
F Michael Mersch (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team Twitter update)

F Jussi Jokinen (released from PTO, via MLive’s Ansar Khan)
F David Pope (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Vili Saarijarvi (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Harri Sateri (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Givani Smith (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominic Turgeon (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Filip Zadina (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter update)

D Jakub Jerabek (awaiting assignment)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

G Charlie Lindgren (to Montreal, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team Twitter update)

D Brandon Crawley (to Hartford, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)

D Mark Friedman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Carter Hart (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Philippe Myers (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)

D Erik Cerna (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Mitchell Stephens (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Alexander Volkov (to Syracuse, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team Twitter update; Dhiren Mahiban)

D Andreas Borgman (to Toronto, AHL)
F Jeremy Bracco (to Toronto, AHL)
F Adam Brooks (to Toronto, AHL)
F Emerson Clark (to Toronto, AHL)
F Rich Clune (to Toronto, AHL)
F Pierre Engvall (to Toronto, AHL)
F Colin Greening (to Toronto, AHL)
F Carl Grundstrom (to Toronto, AHL)
D Timothy Liljegren (to Toronto, AHL)
F Mason Marchment (to Toronto, AHL)
F Trevor Moore (to Toronto, AHL)
D Calle Rosen (to Toronto, AHL)
F Dmytro Timashov (to Toronto, AHL)
D Sean Durzi (from Toronto, AHL to Owen Sound, OHL)
D Mac Hollowell (from Toronto, AHL to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)

Washington Capitals (via The Athletic’s Chris Kuk)

F Riley Barber (to Hershey, AHL)
F Liam O’Brien (to Hershey, AHL)

Fifteen Players Placed On Waivers

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Another busy day on the waiver wire as 15 players were placed on waivers today, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). No players was claimed from yesterday’s group of 16 players, but with the regular season fast approaching, teams are continuing to make big decisions.

F Justin Bailey (Buffalo)
F Nicholas Baptiste (Buffalo)
F Riley Barber (Washington)
D Matt Bartkowski (Minnesota)
F Patrick Brown (Carolina)
F Erik Condra (Dallas)
G Andrew Hammond (Minnesota)
F Mike Liambas (Minnesota)
D Evan McEneny (Vancouver)
F Greg McKegg (Carolina)
F Michael Mersch (Dallas)
F Liam O’Brien (Washington)
F Kyle Rau (Minnesota)
F Matt Read (Minnesota)
F Anton Rodin (Anaheim) — placed on unconditional waivers (per Lavoie)
D Matt Tennyson (Buffalo)

There are a few interesting names, including the “Hamburglar,” who lost his bid to unseat goaltender Alex Stalock as the backup goaltender in Minnesota. Hammond hasn’t been a full-time backup since the 2015-16 season, but has shown flashes of brilliance when he’s hot, including getting into three playoff appearances for Colorado last year. One of those games, Game 5, Hammond stopped 44 of 45 shots in leading the Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. However, he wasn’t able to keep that success going as he yielded five goals the following game as Colorado was eliminated.

The 23-year-old Bailey is another interesting player who has worked his way up level-by-level and was on the border of a regular spot. Bailey has had three stints in the NHL now and last year’s was one of the more successful ones has he tallied three goals and four points in 12 games. Baptiste is another 23-year-old in Buffalo, who got an even longer look with the Sabres, 33 games, but only managed four goals in that time.

Read is another player with tons of experience. The 32-year-old had played quite a bit in the NHL before struggling to get playing time in Philadelphia, while the 25-year-old Rau posted 23 goals in Iowa last season in the AHL.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/29/18

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With the season-opening roster deadline fast approaching, many teams will be putting the final touches to their rosters this weekend so another busy day of cuts is expected.  We’ll keep tabs on the non-waiver roster cuts here and update this post throughout the day.

Boston Bruins (via CapFriendly)

G Zane McIntyre (to Providence, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team Tweet)

D Lawrence Pilut (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

D Michal Cajkovsky (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Janne Kuokkanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Saku Maenalanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Roland McKeown (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Nicolas Roy (to Charlotte, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

F Denis Gurianov (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Jake Chelios (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Patrik Rybar (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per CapFriendly)

G Al Montoya (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

F Anthony Greco (to Springfield, AHL)
G Michael Hutchinson (to Springfield, AHL)
D Julian Melchiori (to Springfield, AHL)

New York Rangers (per CapFriendly)

D Chris Bigras (to Hartford, AHL)
F Peter Holland (to Hartford, AHL)
G Marek Mazanec (to Hartford, AHL)
F Cole Schneider (to Hartford, AHL)
G Dustin Tokarski (to Hartford, AHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via CapFriendly)

F Brendan Gaunce (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via TSN’s Brian Munz)

F Dennis Everberg (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Seth Griffith (to Manitoba, AHL)
F J.C. Lipon (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Nicolas Kerdiles (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Manitoba, AHL)

Training Camp Cuts: 9/28/18

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With season-opening rosters due just a few days from now, quite a few more cuts are expected today around the league.  We’ll keep tabs on these moves here and will update this post throughout the day.

Please note that this list does not include players placed on waivers today.  That group of players can be found here.

Anaheim Ducks (via Eric Stephens of The Athletic)

D Simon Benoit (to San Diego, AHL)
G Kevin Boyle (to San Diego, AHL)
F Sam Carrick (to San Diego, AHL)
G Jared Coreau (to San Diego, AHL)
F Chase De Leo (to San Diego, AHL)
D Jacob Larsson (to San Diego, AHL)
D Steven Oleksy (to San Diego, AHL)
D Josh Mahura (to San Diego, AHL)
F Anton Rodin (to San Diego, AHL)
F Corey Tropp (to San Diego, AHL)
D Andy Welinski (to San Diego, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Ryan Fitzgerald (to Providence, AHL)
F Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (to Providence, AHL)
F Jakub Lauko (to Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
F Jordan Szwarz (to Providence, AHL)
D Jakub Zboril (to Providence, AHL)

Dallas Stars (via Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

D Dillon Heatherington (to Texas, AHL)
D Reece Scarlett (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

F Wade Megan (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter)

F Kevin Rooney (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Brett Seney (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Ty Smith (to Spokane, WHL)

New York Rangers (per team Twitter)

F Lias Andersson (to Hartford, AHL)
D Steven Fogarty (to Hartford, AHL)
D Libor Hajek (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ryan Lindgren (to Hartford, AHL)
F Michael Lindqvist (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ville Meskanen (to Hartford, AHL)
D Rob O’Gara (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (per team Twitter)

F Filip Chlapik (to Belleville, AHL)
D Christian Wolanin (to Belleville, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)

F Tyrell Goulbourne (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Carsen Twarynski (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

F Mason Appleton (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Mikhail Berdin (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Eric Comrie (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Sami Niku (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Jansen Harkins (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Skyler McKenzie (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Nelson Nogier (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Kristian Reichel (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Peter Stoykewych (to Manitoba, AHL)
F C.J. Suess (to Manitoba, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

F Maximilian Kammerer (to Hershey, AHL)

Training Camp Cuts: 9/27/18

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With the season now less than a week away, teams are getting closer to finalizing their opening rosters.  We’ll keep tabs of the players getting cut here.

Note that this list does not include players that were placed on waivers today.  Those can be found here.

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
D Will Borgen (to Rochester, AHL)
F Victor Olofsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Cody Bass (released from PTO)
D Sergei Boikov (to Colorado, AHL)
G Pavel Francouz (to Colorado, AHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Ty Lewis (to Colorado, AHL)
F Igor Shvyrev (to Colorado, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

D John Nyberg (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

RW Colin Campbell (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Carter Camper (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Marcus Crawford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Matthew Ford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Trevor Hamilton (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Axel Holmstrom (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Dominik Shine (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D MacKenze Stewart (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
LW Chris Terry (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Trevor Yates (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter)

F Ryan McLeod (to Mississauga, OHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Bokondji Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Ontario, AHL)
F Drake Rymsha (to Ontario, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Sam Anas (to Iowa, AHL)
F Alexander Khovanov (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Justin Kloos (to Iowa, AHL)
D Carson Soucy (to Iowa, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team Twitter)

F Bobby Butler (released from PTO)
F Gabriel Fontaine (to Hartford, AHL)
F Tim Gettinger (to Hartford, AHL)
D John Gilmour (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryan Gropp (to Hartford, AHL)
F Drew Melanson (released from PTO)

San Jose Sharks (per Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News)

D Ryan Merkley (to Guelph, OHL)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

F Adam Gaudette (to Utica, AHL)
D Olli Juolevi (to Utica, AHL)

In addition, F Brendan Gaunce will be placed on waivers on Friday.

Vegas Golden Knights (per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal)

D Erik Brannstrom (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

D Tyler Lewington (to Hershey, AHL)
G Ilya Samsonov (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Sergei Shumakov (to Hershey, AHL)
G Vitek Vanecek (to Hershey, AHL)

Training Camp Cuts: 9/23/18

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As training camps roll on, teams continue to thin the herd. Yesterday saw twelve different teams make substantial cuts and the same can be expected today. The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning got things started early this morning, but we’ll keep track of cuts right here throughout the day:

Arizona Coyotes (via team release)

F Brayden Burke (to Tucson, AHL)
F Trevor Cheek (to Tucson, AHL)
F Matteo Gennaro (to Tucson, AHL)
F Adam Helewka (to Tucson, AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (to Charlottetown, QMJHL)
G Merrick Madsen (to Tucson, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)

F Tyler Randell (to Rochester, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per team release)

F Nick Caamano (to Texas, AHL)
F Tony Calderone (to Texas, AHL)
G Philippe Desrosiers (to Texas, AHL)
D Ben Gleason (to Texas, AHL)
D Shane Hanna (released from PTO)
D Niklas Hansson (to Texas, AHL)
F Samuel Laberge (released from PTO)
F Joel L’Esperance (to Texas, AHL)
F Colin Markison (released from PTO)
D Chris Martenet (to Texas, AHL)
F Adam Mascherin (to Texas, AHL)
F Robbie Payne (released from ATO)
F James Phelan (released from ATO)
G Colton Point (to Texas, AHL)
D Ondrej Vala (to Texas, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

D Alex Lintuniemi (to Ontario, AHL)
F Zack Mitchell (to Ontario, AHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

D Frederic Allard (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Alexandre Carrier (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Matt Donovan (released from PTO)
D Jack Dougherty (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Jeremy Gregoire (released from PTO)
F Tanner Jeannot (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Justin Kirkland (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Matt Lane (released from PTO)
D Joonas Lyytinen (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Thomas McCollum (released from PTO)
F Zachary Magwood (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Tyler Moy (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Mathieu Olivier (released from PTO)
F Alex Overhardt (released from PTO)
F Carl Persson (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Emil Pettersson (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Filip Pyrochta (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Anthony Richard (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Miroslav Svoboda (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Yakov Trenin (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team release & team Twitter)

F Brandon Baddock (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Nathan Bastian (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Jocktan Chainey (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Brandon Gignac (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Josh Jacobs (to Binghamton, AHL)
G Cam Johnson (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Michael Kapla (to Binghamton, AHL)
G Akira Schmid (to Lethbridge, WHL)
F Yegor Sharangovich (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Colby Sissons (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Blake Speers (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Colton White (to Binghamton, AHL)

New York Islanders (via team Twitter)

D Kyle Burroughs (to Bridgeport, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (per team release)

F Rudolfs Balcers (to Belleville, AHL)
F Drake Batherson (to Belleville, AHL)
F Logan Brown (to Belleville, AHL)
D Andreas Englund (to Belleville, AHL)
D Macoy Erkamps (to Belleville, AHL)
F Gabriel Gagne (to Belleville, AHL)
G Filip Gustavsson (to Belleville, AHL)
G Marcus Hogberg (to Belleville, AHL)
F Joseph Labate (to Belleville, AHL)
F Boston Leier (to Belleville, AHL)
F Aaron Luchuk (to Belleville, AHL)
D Stuart Percy (to Belleville, AHL)
F Jack Rodewald (to Belleville, AHL)
F Ryan Scarfo (to Belleville, AHL)
F Andrew Sturtz (to Belleville, AHL)
F Chase Balisy (waivers, for purpose of Belleville, AHL)
D Julius Bergman (waivers, for purpose of Belleville, AHL)
D Erik Burgdoerfer (waivers, for purpose of Belleville, AHL)
F Nick Paul (waivers, for purpose of Belleville, AHL)
F Ben Sexton (waivers, for purpose of Belleville, AHL)
D Patrick Sieloff (waivers, for purpose of Belleville, AHL)
F Adam Tambellini (waivers, for purpose of Belleville, AHL)
F Jack Skille (released from PTO)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)

F Anthony Angello (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Teddy Blueger (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Joseph Cramarossa (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Thomas Di Pauli (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Stefan Elliott (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL pending waivers)
F Ryan Haggerty (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Jimmy Hayes (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL pending waivers)
F Adam Johnson (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Sam Lafferty (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Tobias Lindberg (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL pending waivers)
F Sam Miletic (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G John Muse (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL pending waivers)
D Will O’Neill (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Linus Olund (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Ethan Prow (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL pending waivers)
D Chris Summers (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL pending waivers)
D Jeff Taylor (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Garrett Wilson (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL pending waivers)

San Jose Sharks (per team release)

F Tim Clifton (placed on waivers for purpose of sending to San Jose)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
D Cavan Fitzgerald (to San Jose, AHL)
F Noah Gregor (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jayden Halbgewachs (to San Jose, AHL)
F Maxim Letunov (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jake McGrew (to Spokane, WHL)
D Jacob Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
D Keaton Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
F Francis Perron (to San Jose, AHL)
F Vincent Praplan (to San Jose, AHL)
F Lukas Radil (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jeremy Roy (to San Jose, AHL)
F Alex True (to San Jose, AHL)
F Manuel Wiederer (to San Jose, AHL)
D Kyle Wood (to San Jose, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)

F Olivier Archambault (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Alex Barre-Boulet (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Corbin Boes (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Troy Bourke (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Michael Bournival (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Brady Brassart (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Ross Colton (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Cal Foote (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Cameron Gaunce (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Connor Ingram (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Boris Katchouk (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Hubert Labrie (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Alexey Lipanov (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Dominik Masin (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Eddie Pasquale (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Taylor Raddysh (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Otto Somppi (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Oleg Sosunov (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Matt Spencer (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jonne Tammela (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Ben Thomas (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Carter Verhaeghe (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Daniel Walcott (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Dennis Yan (to Syracuse, AHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma)

D Guillaume Brisebois (to Utica, AHL)
D Jalen Chatfield (to Utica, AHL)
F Jonathan Dahlen (to Utica, AHL)
F Petrus Palmu (to Utica, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (via team release)

D Nic Hague (to Chicago, AHL)
D Keegan Kolesar (to Chicago, AHL)

Central Notes: MacKinnon, Jokiharju, Boqvist, Honka

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The Colorado Avalanche had a phenomenal turnaround season last year after many years where the team was considered among the bottom-fodder of the league. Yet in one year, the team now looks like an ever-improving playoff team that is definitely heading in the right direction. The team also has one more thing going for them — that’s Nathan MacKinnon, who in one year also has established himself into one of the top players in the league after posting 39 goals and 97 points last season. The 23-year-old is also, fortunately for the team, locked up for five more years at a very reasonable $6.3MM AAV.

In fact, the young superstar told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that the money isn’t an issue for him even though he could make a salary much closer to that of Edmonton Oilers’ center Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM contract if he was a free agent right now.

“If I was up, I would ask for more than what I’m getting now,” MacKinnon told The Denver Post. “I think you want to get paid what you’re worth. And at the time, I thought I was paid what I was worth. But I’m trying to get better every day and money is the last thing on my mind. It really is. I just want the respect of my teammates, respect from my peers and to reach my own expectations.”

Regardless of MacKinnon’s lack of worry about being paid as a top player, he can’t negotiate a new contract until July 1, 2022, when he’ll be 28 years, so he could be even better then.

  • The Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield feels that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Henry Jokiharju has already made the team and feels it isn’t too early to declare that fact. The 19-year-old first-rounder in 2017 has impressed in camp and has been among the top seven defenseman in camp. On top of that with injuries to Connor Murphy and Gustav Forsling, who are both expected to be out until at least November, Jokiharju has found that opening that should slot him in with Erik Gustafsson as a third-pairing defenseman to start the season. The hope would be that he would earn the right to stay in the first month of the season and force Chicago to make a tough decision when Murphy and Gustafsson return.
  • Speaking of Blackhawks’ defensive prospects, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney suggests that 2018 first-round pick Adam Boqvist has re-established himself as a candidate for a roster spot on the Blackhawks after an impressive performance Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. Many people felt he would be re-assigned after the game, but head coach John Quenneville stated that Boqvist would be staying with the team – for now.
  • Matthew DeFranks of SportsDay writes that only two players will have played in all three of their recent preseason games, including Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, Thursday’s game against Minnesota and tonight’s game against Florida in defensemen Julius Honka and Gavin Bayreuther. While Honka is a lock to make the roster, head coach Jim Montgomery wants him to play as much as possible to increase his confidence. However, the team also wants to see as much as it can of Bayreuther, who will likely end up with the AHL Texas Stars, but could be the top defenseman to be called up, if Montgomery likes what he sees.

 

Marc Methot's Knee Still Tender But Calls The Pain More Manageable

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  • Stars defenseman Marc Methot dealt with knee issues last season and it doesn’t appear that those have completely gone away. He mentioned to Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that his knee is still tender at times but that the situation is more manageable.  Even so, that has to be at least a little concerning for the team considering he’s their highest-paid defender and is someone they’ll be counting on to have much more of an impact if they want to make it back to the postseason.

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