Minor Transactions: 4/8/18
With the Eastern Conference still undecided until today’s final regular season game, the Western Conference has no questions as the Colorado Avalanche finished off the St. Louis Blues in a 5-2 victory Saturday as they clinched the final playoff spot. The Nashville Predators got the top spot and will face the Avalanche. In other first-round matchups, the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks will face the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild will face the Winnipeg Jets.
- The New York Islanders announced they have assigned forward Tanner Fritz on loan to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to help their AHL affiliate, who have four games left in their season. The 26-year-old Fritz split time between both teams, putting up three goals and seven points for the Islanders in 34 games, while scoring 10 goals and 27 assists in 33 games for Bridgeport.
- The Chicago Blackhawks announced they have assigned forwards John Hayden, David Kampf, Andreas Martinsen, Victor Ejdsell, Jeff Glass and Jean-Francois Berube to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL for their playoff push.
- The Montreal Canadiens announced they have assigned forwards Michael McCarron and Kerby Rychel as well as defenseman Brett Lernout to the AHL’s Laval Rocket to get some more playing time in before their season ends.
- The Buffalo Sabres have announced they will send eight players to the Rochester Americans of the AHL for their playoff run, including forwards Nicholas Baptiste, Alexander Nylander and Kevin Porter; defensemen Brendan Guhle, Casey Nelson and Matt Tennyson; and goaltenders Linus Ullmark and Adam Wilcox.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have sent four players to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL for their upcoming playoff run, according to the AHL team. The Hurricanes assigned forwards Nicolas Roy, Valentin Zykov as well as defensemen Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown. It will be a change for Fleury who spent all but one game with Carolina this season, while Zykov put up solid numbers in the NHL with seven points in 10 games.
- With the Calgary Flames season over, the team has assigned three players to the Stockton Heat of the AHL to finish out their season. The team will return defenseman Rasmus Andersson, forward Spencer Foo and goaltender Jon Gillies. Andersson played 10 games for the Flames this year, while Foo scored two goals in four games. Gillies played 11 games for Calgary, putting up a 2.88 GAA.
- The Arizona Coyotes, according to CapFriendly, have sent four players back to the Tucson Roadrunners for their playoff run, including forward Dylan Strome and defensemen Dakota Mermis, Trevor Murphy and Joel Hanley. Strome showed some success at the NHL level, putting up four goals and nine points in 21 games this season.
- The Dallas Stars have joined the fray, reassigning defenseman Dillon Heatherington and goaltender Mike McKenna to the AHL’s Texas Stars as they continue their push toward the playoffs.
Dallas Notes: Seguin, Nichushkin, Heiskanen, Spezza, Lehtonen
With the Dallas Stars season coming to an end today, the Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) spoke with Dallas general manager Jim Nill in a Q&A about the team’s disappointing season which resulted in a second-straight season in the lottery (three out of five, if anyone is asking), despite the team’s offseason efforts to compete for a Stanley Cup immediately.
Nill says while the team is still trying to figure out what went wrong, the team’s top priority is to focus on re-signing center Tyler Seguin, who is coming off a career-high 40 goals this season. He has one year remaining at just $5.75MM and can sign an extension on July 1. The question no one is certain of is what does Seguin want? Regardless, the team intends to stick with Seguin whether or not he signs an extension on July 1st.
“I know some people are worried, but he’s got a year left and I anticipate he’s going to come in and play well and get going,” Nill said. “I hope to have him signed before that year starts, but if it doesn’t we’ll go through that process. There are some things that are an advantage, we can offer eight years compared to seven, so there are a lot of factors that come into play.”
- In the same mailbag, Nill said that he believes that 2013 first-rounder Valeri Nichushkin will be back in Dallas next season. The former 10th-overall pick played three seasons in Dallas, but struggled at times and opted to return to CSKA Moscow of the KHL for the past two years. With two more years of experience, the 23-year-old could make big contributions to the team next year if they can bring him back, according to Nill.
- Nill also said, in Shapiro’s column, that he believes that 2017 first-round pick Miro Heiskanen looks ready to contribute to the team and is likely to come over next year. “I watched him closely in the Olympics, we’ve had scouts over there watching him,” Nill said. “He’s right there. He’s ready to come over. There will be a little transition time, living in a different country and stuff, but he’s very close.” The fourth-overall pick could change the state of their defense quickly if he’s as good as advertised. The 18-year-old has put up improved numbers in his second year playing in Finland’s top league, as he 11 goals and 12 assists in 30 games this year.
- Mike Heika of SportsDay writes due to the contracts they have acquired over the past year, the team is all in on trying to win a Stanley Cup soon and will be forced to reload as opposed to rebuild their team. The scribe believes that the Stars should look to trade veteran forward Jason Spezza, who will have one more year at $7.5MM and retain half his salary. Spezza struggled this year under head coach Ken Hitchcock, scoring just eight goals this year, his lowest number since his rookie season. Heika believes that with another coach on another team, Spezza could still be a productive second or third-line center and at $3.75MM, there could be a lot of takers.
- Heika, in the same column, writes that Stars’ fans have likely seen the last of backup goaltender Kari Lehtonen. The scribe believes that with starter Ben Bishop always dealing with minor injury issues, the team needs a backup who is capable of controlling a game. Lehtonen, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, has not been that guy. He put up decent numbers this year with a 2.58 GAA and a .911 save percentage, but Heika believes the team needs a young goalie with more potential.
Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp To Retire At End Of Season
Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Sharp played in his final home game Friday and is expected to play his final game of his career Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg, ending a lengthy career since 2005 and including 10 years as a integral piece to the Blackhawks, which led to three Stanley Cup championships.
“I think I’ve known what I wanted to do for a long period of time here and it’s never easy, you know?” an emotional Sharp said in the Blackhawks’ dressing room following the loss via Chris Kuk of The Athletic. “But I think I’m just ready to take that next step in my life, and I’m looking forward to it.”
In two stints with Chicago, the 36-year-old Sharp has tallied 249 goals and helped the Blackhawks to Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015. After winning the title in 2015, Sharp was then traded to the Dallas Stars where he 28 goals over two seasons. He signed a one-year, $800K contract to return to Chicago. With his skills on decline, the winger played the lowest average minutes of his career since his rookie season, averaging 12:50, scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 69 games.
While Sharp didn’t announce his retirement beforehand, it was quite obvious to anyone who watched Friday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. Sharp played the most minutes of the season, playing 19:03. His parents were in attendance and the veteran started on the team’s top line. He wore his old “A” on his sweater and the team gave him a video tribute during the third period. At the end of the game, Sharp skated to center ice under the spotlight teammates stayed on the bench and tapped their sticks.
On a whole, including two seasons playing for the Philadelphia Flyers who drafted him in the third round back in 2001, Sharp finished his career with 287 goals, 333 assists and 620 points in 939 games. He also was part of Team Canada’s gold medal Olympic team in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
Minor Transactions: 04/02/18
The NHL is down to the last week of the season, with all games scheduled to be wrapped up by Sunday night. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league and give context on how they could impact the playoff picture. Check back throughout the day to stay up to date on your favorite team.
- According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Matt Tennyson from the minor leagues to help replace the injured Victor Antipin. Antipin was knocked unconscious this weekend against the Nashville Predators, and won’t play again this season. Tennyson has played 14 games for the Sabres this season, though most of his work has come in the AHL. The 27-year old defenseman is still looking for his first NHL point of the season.
- Back and forth goes Oliver Kylington, who has been recalled once again by the Calgary Flames today. Kylington is still looking to get a chance at the NHL level, but the 20-year old defenseman has seen positive progression while in the minor leagues.
- Thatcher Demko is on his way back to the minor leagues, in time to help the Utica Comets with their playoff push. If the AHL playoffs started today, the Comets would have to dangerous Toronto Marlies in the first round, a matchup that would really test Demko and give him an opportunity to show he’s too good for the minor leagues.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Colby Cave from the minor leagues under emergency conditions, bringing up the forward once again. Cave made his NHL debut earlier this year, and could get back into the lineup if one of the injured players for Boston can’t play.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have swapped goaltenders, recalling Jeff Glass from the minor leagues and sending Collin Delia back down. Delia had a very interesting debut, suiting up after Anton Forsberg was injured, only to suffer an injury himself and relinquish the net to emergency goaltender Scott Foster. Delia has played at three different professional levels already this season, impressive for an undrafted goaltender out of Merrimack College.
- The Dallas Stars have reassigned Jason Dickinson to the minor leagues, giving him back to the Texas Stars for their playoff run. Texas will welcome him back with open arms, as Dickinson has 16 goals in just 36 games this season.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Keller, Makar, Boeser
The NHL announced its three stars for the month of March as Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid has found his way to the top once again, named the first star. McDavid picked up 13 goals and 15 assists in 16 games, which pulls him into the lead for the Art Ross Trophy race. Despite the Oilers struggles, McDavid has taken his game to a new level as he has hit career highs in goals (41) and points (103) and remains six points ahead of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for top spot in the NHL.
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand is the league’s second star for March as he had 10 goals and 16 assists in 15 games. Anaheim goaltender John Gibson picked up third star honors after playing in 13 games, picking up nine wins and boasting a .931 save percentage during that span.
- Arizona Coyotes announced rookie Clayton Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for the second time this season. Keller, who won the award in October, had a strong start to the season, but struggled during the winter months before picking it back up recently. He picked up 19 points in the month of March, including six goals over 17 games. The 19-year-old is ranked second among rookies in points with 63 behind the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal.
- BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that the Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a little while longer to get bring in 2017 first-round pick Cale Makar into the fold. The fourth-overall pick has decided to return to the University of Massachusetts – Amherst for his sophomore year. An elite power-play defenseman, Makar had a solid freshman year at Amherst, putting up five goals and 21 points and the Avalanche had hopes of instantly upgrading its defense for next year.
- Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that it is doubtful that Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser plays for Team USA at this year’s 2018 IIHF World Championships in Denmark. Boeser went down for the season with a back injury and likely will spend his summer getting ready for the 2018-19 season. The 21-year-old had a great rookie season in which he scored 29 goals and picked up 55 points.
Jason Spezza To Miss At Least Two Weeks With Back Injury
- If the Stars are going to work their way back into the playoff picture, they will have to do so without the services of center Jason Spezza. Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge notes (Twitter link) that the veteran is dealing with a back injury and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, effectively all but ending his regular season. They could get some good news from the infirmary, however. Stepneski adds that blueliner Marc Methot participated in a full practice today and could get the green light to return for Friday’s game against Boston after missing more than a week due to a hand laceration.
Stars Should Know More About Extent Of Ben Bishop's Injury On Thursday
- Stars netminder Ben Bishop indeed reinjured his left knee on Sunday against Winnipeg, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News notes via Twitter. He missed five games earlier this month due to the issue and while he was initially expected to be re-evaluated in two weeks, Heika reports that a better idea of his timeline to recovery should be known on Thursday.
Avalanche Activate Erik Johnson From IR
The Colorado Avalanche have points in nine of their last ten games and have climbed back into playoff position. Now, they’ll get even stronger as they bring back one of their top defenseman. NHL.com’s Callie Parmele writes that Erik Johnson has been activated from the injured reserve and is set to return to the lineup today against the Detroit Red Wings.
Johnson, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career, was most recently sidelined with an undisclosed upper-body injury. He was placed on IR back on February 19th and has missed Colorado’s past 13 games. Fortunately, the Avs went 7-2-4 in that span and now Johnson’s return could vault them into a playoff spot.
As it stands, Colorado holds the first wild card berth in the Western Conference with 84 points in 71 games. The Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks also have 84 points, but the Avalanche have a game in-hand on both. With Johnson back in the lineup, potentially resuming his play on the top pair with Nikita Zadorov or, as Parmele suggests, possibly taking on a new role, maybe with Patrik Nemeth, the Avs will solidify their back end and could hold off those seeking to take away their postseason chances. Colorado faces the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and the Vegas Golden Knights twice in their next six games so Johnson’s impact, and the Avs’ ability to fight for their playoff lives, will be on display.
Minor Transactions: 3/17/18
All eyes will be on Tampa tonight as the Lightning host the Bruins in a match-up with major playoff implications. Boston trails Tampa Bay by four points for the lead in the Atlantic Division and top seed in the Eastern Conference, but also holds a game in hand. A win for the Bolts would give them considerably more wiggle room, while a win for the B’s would put them in striking distance of the coveted top spot when they square off with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Outside of this clash of titans though, there are nine other game on the docket on a busy Saturday, yet they might all be caught up in Bruins-Lightning, as it’s been all quiet on the transactions front:
- The Dallas Stars are back to just two goalies, having reassigned Mike McKenna to AHL Texas. McKenna was briefly called up as a precaution, but did not see any action with Dallas. The veteran journeyman has made 29 AHL appearance this season though, posting a 2.64 GAA and .908 save percentage. Despite those pedestrian numbers, he will remain the next man up for the Stars should injury befall Ben Bishop or Kari Lehtonen down the stretch or (potentially) in the postseason.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets will have recently-extended defenseman Dean Kukan back in the lineup, as the team announced that they have activated him from injured reserve. Kukan had missed the past 12 games with an upper-body injury that landed him on IR back in mid-February. It remains to be seen if Kukan will stay in Columbus or instead see some guaranteed game action with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he has 15 points in 32 games this year.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have recalled goaltender Louis Domingue from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. After stopping 26 of 28 saves for the Crunch Friday, the belief is that Domingue will share backup goaltending duties with veteran Peter Budaj, who only recently came back from injury. The belief was that Domingue, who has played eight games for the Lightning, has been stronger in goal than Budaj has been. Domingue has a 5-2-0 record with a 3.07 GAA and a .907 save percentage, while Budaj has a 3-3-1 record with a 3.76 GAA and a .876 save percentage in eight games. The transaction leaves Tampa Bay with just one final recall remaining for the rest of the season as this is the team’s third of four.
Brett Ritchie Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
- Stars winger Brett Ritchie has been listed as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, relays Sean Shapiro of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old actually played a season-high 16:47 in his last game on Wednesday against Toronto. Ritchie has been relatively quiet offensively this year with just 13 points in 62 games but he leads all Dallas forwards in hits with 159. Forward Gemel Smith is expected to take his place in the lineup.