Minor Transactions: 11/20/17
With just six games on a Monday and a couple of suspensions last night, many teams may look to make minor changes to their roster for the coming week. Keep up with those moves right here:
- The Vancouver Canucks announced they have recalled defenseman Philip Holm from the Utica Comets and reassigned Patrick Wiercioch in a corresponding move. Holm will be recalled for first time as the undrafted free agent signed a one-year deal with Vancouver this summer. At 25 years of age and coming over from Sweden, he needed time to adjust to the North American hockey, but appears to be ready. He has played 15 games for Utica, leading all Comet defensemen in scoring as he has put up two goals and eight assists on the year. Wiercioch, who had been shuttled up and down for most of the season has been up with the team since Oct. 23, but has been serving as an emergency defenseman and hasn’t seen any action yet this year. He has only played two games for the Comets this season.
- The Nashville Predators announced they have recalled forward Pontus Aberg and goaltender Juuse Saros as well as Frederick Gaudreau from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. The team also reassigned Anders Lindback to Milwaukee. Aberg had been serving in Milwaukee on a conditioning stint since Nov. 11. The 24-year-old had cracked the team’s lineup last year after putting up a 30-goal season in Milwaukee. He then proceeded to play in 16 playoff games for Nashville, but had trouble finding playing time this year as he had only played in nine games to start the year and was often a healthy scratch. In four games for the Admirals, he had four goals and two assists. Saros, the team’s backup behind starter Pekka Rinne, has struggled in his time with the Predators. In four games, he has posted a 3.94 GAA and a .855 save percentage. He was sent down to start for Milwaukee to get in some playing time. Although he took the loss in Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Monsters, he only allowed two goals in the game, stopping 20 shots. Lindback returns to Milwaukee after serving as an emergency backup for the team on Saturday.
- Arizona Sports reported that the Arizona Coyotes have assigned defenseman Dakota Mermis to the AHL Tucson Roadrunners. The 23-year-old blueliner has played seven games for Arizona with the team’s rash of defensive injuries from Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jakob Chychrun. Hjalmarsson is expected to return to the lineup tonight.
- The Dallas Stars have recalled goaltender Mike McKenna from the AHL Texas Stars Monday as backup Kari Lehtonen is unavailable due to personal reasons, according to the team. The 34-year-old McKenna has been a journeyman in the AHL and last got into an NHL game with the Arizona Coyotes back in the 2014-15 season and has played in 22 NHL games in his career. In 12 games with Texas, he has a 3.51 GAA. The Stars also announced they have recalled defenseman Julius Honka from Texas. The 2014 first-round pick has been unable to carve out a full-time role with Dallas as he struggled to earn playing time at the start of the year. He was sent down on Oct. 31 after playing six games, putting up no points. He played eight games with the Texas Stars, but also failed to produce a point.
Methot To Miss A Couple Of Games
- NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro writes that Dallas Stars defenseman Marc Methot will miss the next two games with a lower body injury. The 32-year-old defensive defenseman will not travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, but Shapiro also notes the team will not have to add another defender. The team will move defenseman Jamie Oleksiak back into their defensive rotation instead. The team also said that forward Tyler Pitlick, who has been out for the last week, is ready to go and Shapiro suggests that Pitlick will likely move into the lineup for Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Morning Notes: Drouin, Spezza, Duchene
As usual, the Hockey Night In Canada Headlines segment last night was one to watch if you’re interested in rumors and speculation going on around the league. With a panel of Nick Kypreos, Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman, you knew there was going to be a few interesting nuggets of information.
Johnston relayed an interesting situation surrounding Jonathan Drouin and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two sides have finished an arbitration over a performance bonus from last season, that Drouin missed by less than a tenth of a point per game. Because of all the work Steve Yzerman did at the trade deadline last season, the Lightning don’t have any carryover from their entry-level bonuses, meaning the settlement (which will pay Drouin 90% of the bonus) will not affect this year’s cap number.
- The panel also discussed Jason Spezza and the idea that his name is starting to surface in trade speculation. Spezza is obviously not as big a part of the Dallas Stars as he once was, taken away from the center ice position and moved down in the lineup. The interesting note that Friedman reported is that Spezza has a full no-movement clause during the season, instead of the 10-team no-trade list that had been previously recorded. That clause and the $7.5MM cap hit for this year and next make a move extremely unlikely even if Dallas wanted to part ways.
- Though the Matt Duchene saga is over, the panel did relay that the Pittsburgh Penguins made a last-ditch effort to acquire the center from the Colorado Avalanche. That would imply that the Penguins are not comfortable with the team they have right now, and few would be surprised by that. Pittsburgh lost again last night and are now 9-7-3 on the year. Though no one is expecting them to miss the playoffs, GM Jim Rutherford is a known horse trader as the deadline approaches, and will likely be involved in another big move this season.
Curtis McKenzie Returned To Texas (AHL)
- After being recalled on Friday, the Stars returned winger Curtis McKenzie to AHL Texas, notes NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro via Twitter. With Brett Ritchie coming off IR and returning to the lineup last night, McKenzie was made a healthy scratch. While the 26-year-old has yet to play in Dallas this year, he’s off to a strong start in the minors with 11 points (6-5-11) in 12 games, good for second on Texas in team scoring.
Brett Ritchie Activated Off IR
- The Stars have activated Brett Ritchie off injured reserve, reports Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge via Twitter. He has yet to play this month after sustaining an upper-body injury and had a goal and an assist in 12 October contests. To make room for him on the roster, Dallas transferred winger Tyler Pitlick to IR, retroactive to November 4th. Backdating the placement that far back means that he can be reactivated as early as Saturday.
Dallas Stars Acquire Reece Scarlett From Florida Panthers
The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers have made a minor league trade today, swapping Reece Scarlett and Ludwig Bystrom. Scarlett will head to Dallas after less than a year in the Florida organization as he was traded from New Jersey at last year’s deadline.
Scarlett, 23, was selected in the sixth round by the Devils in 2011 but hasn’t been able to take a step past solid AHL blueliner. That’s not to say he doesn’t have value in that role though, as he continually puts up solid point totals and can play in various situations.
Bystrom on the other hand was a second-round pick of the Stars in 2012. Selected 43rd-overall, he’d been holding his own in the Swedish Elite League and looked like he could make the jump to North American pro quickly. After a couple more successful seasons in the SHL he did come to the AHL in 2015, but hasn’t turned into the puck-rushing player they’d hoped for. He’d fallen down the depth chart considerably in Dallas, and will look for a fresh start with the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Minor Transactions: 11/10/17
The NHL is set to open their series in Sweden in just a few hours, with the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Ottawa Senators. The games have a bit more significance now that Matt Duchene will take on his former team immediately following the trade, while Samuel Girard will suit up for the first time as an Avalanche. There are six other games around the league too, including the Penguins and Capitals rehashing an old rivalry, and the Bruins and Maple Leafs starting a back-to-back series. We’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league right here. Make sure to refresh or bookmark this page for the day.
- The Dallas Stars have recalled Curtis McKenzie from the AHL to help them up front. The Stars have a few forwards—Tyler Pitlick, Radek Faksa, and Brett Ritchie—still on the shelf, and have had to play Jamie Oleksiak up front in recent games. Their biggest impediment was the salary cap, as the team is right up against it just a few weeks into the season. Banking some room with fewer than 23 men on the roster has allowed for this call-up, but as NHL.com correspondent Sean Shapiro explains for Wrong Side Of The Red Line, it has also limited who exactly they could recall. McKenzie had 16 points in 53 games for the Stars last season.
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled goaltender Zach Fucale on an emergency basis after Al Montoya suffered an upper-body injury. It’s not clear when the injury happened as Montoya didn’t start last night for the Canadiens, who instead are riding Charlie Lindgren with Carey Price out. Now Lindgren will be asked to keep his run going, as he’s the most tenured goaltender on the team. Fucale is a promising goaltending prospect, who was selected in the second round in 2013 and has been playing for the Laval Rocket this season. Montreal plays the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night.
- With Alex Stalock returning to the Minnesota Wild after the birth of his second child, Niklas Svedberg has been sent back to the Iowa Wild. Svedberg was just up on emergency recall in case something happened to Devan Dubnyk.
- The Arizona Coyotes have assigned Mike Sislo to the AHL after failing to get into a game with the team. Sislo is not waiver-exempt, however last cleared in late September. Remember, players are eligible to be sent back down to the minor leagues without waivers if they haven’t spent a cumulative 30 days on the NHL active roster (or played in 10 games) since clearing waivers. Sislo only came up on Tuesday.
- Mark Alt has been sent back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, hopefully indicating that Nolan Patrick is close to returning for the Philadelphia Flyers. Patrick has been out with a concussion for the last six games, but has been skating on his own recently and progressing towards a return. The next game Patrick plays will burn a year of his entry-level contract, but that doesn’t seem to be a concern at this point.
- The Vancouver Canucks have returned Reid Boucher to Utica of the AHL just three days after recalling him. He didn’t get into a game with the team while he was up. Boucher has seen action in ten minor league games this season, tallying three goals and seven assists in ten games.
Dallas Notes: Ritchie, Faksa, Pitlick, Oleksiak, Smith
The Dallas Stars announced they have placed winger Brett Ritchie on injured reserve today retroactive to Oct. 30. He suffered an upper-body injury and while he was listed as day-to-day, the newest update suggests he could miss up to another week with the injury.
The 24-year-old wing has struggled so far this year with just one goal and one assist in 12 games this year. Ritchie ranked fourth on the team last year, potting 16 goals in 78 games. The 2011 second-round pick has just 15 shots on goal in those 12 games and has seen his average ice time drop to 12:03, down from a career average of 13:00.
The move was made as the team suddenly has been hit with a flurry of injuries, with center Radek Faksa and Tyler Pitlick both being listed as doubtful for Monday’s home game against the Winnipeg Jets, while veteran center Martin Hanzal is listed as questionable, according to NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro. Putting Ritchie on IR will allow the team to make a roster move and call up a player from the Texas Stars either later today or tomorrow.
Faksa, who suffered an apparent leg injury in Saturday’s game, also has been showing improvement in his game, picking up a goal and an assist in their win over the Buffalo Sabres. Pitlick is also listed as doubtful with an upper-body injury, but no other clarification, according to Shapiro.
- Shapiro also tweets the team may turn to defenseman Jamie Oleksiak in an emergency and ask him to play the forward position on Monday. Oleksiak has only appeared in eight games so far this season and has been a healthy scratch for the last two.
- Scott Burnside of NHL.com writes that head coach Ken Hitchcock praised the play of Gemel Smith as the team’s most improved player after Saturday’s game. Despite struggling to get on the scoreboard in the first few games that he’s been in, the 23-year-old was instrumental in aiding the team’s four-goal first period Saturday as he picked up his first two assists of the season. His rushes on net helped open up goal scoring opportunities on both Faksa’s and Stephen Johns goals in that period. “He’s a hockey player,” Hitchcock said of Smith. “He acts like a hockey player and plays like a hockey player. You don’t have to tell him twice. He has a feel for the game and does a lot of things that just help you win hockey games. He’s underrated offensively and he’s competitive and really good on the boards. He builds you good minutes every night.”
Martin Hanzal To Miss At Least The Next Two Games
- Dallas center Martin Hanzal, who has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, will miss at least the next two games as well, head coach Ken Hitchcock told Mark Stepneski of the Stars’ team website. As Gavin noted earlier, Hanzal has not started well with his new team after signing a three-year, $14.25MM contract early in free agency as he has just a lone goal through 11 games in the early going of the season. The team is targeting November 10th as a potential return date.
July 1, 2017: An Early Retrospect
Brian Burke isn’t one to mince words. The long-time NHL general manager who now serves as president of the Calgary Flames has uttered innumerable one-liners and catchphrases over the years, many of which are meant to entertain but none that are anything but truthful. One of his most common, was that front offices “make more mistakes on July 1 than any other day of the year.” He obviously wasn’t a fan of the free agent frenzy that happens each year as franchises rush to improve their teams.
In 2016, just a few weeks after Pro Hockey Rumors was launched, we saw an incredible number of long-term deals handed out to players that were either already in, or just past their prime. Milan Lucic, David Backes, Loui Eriksson, Kyle Okposo, Andrew Ladd, and on and on all secured huge paydays last year. Each of them have dealt with levels of inconsistency even in their first season, and still have several years of high cap hits left on their deals.
This summer though was different. The free agent cupboard was almost completely bare, save for a few aging legends and controversial defensemen. On July 1st, we saw just four free agents sign contracts that would pay them at least $4.5MM annually, and only one of them was for five years or more. Let’s take a look at those four, and see what the early results can tell us.
Martin Hanzal (DAL) – Three years, $4.75MM AAV
Season stats: 11 games, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, -9 rating, 19 shots, 14:53 ATOI
Hanzal has been a terrible disappointment in Dallas so far, scoring just a single point while carrying some of these worst possession stats in the league. He’s currently out with a lower-body injury, but the Stars will need an immediate improvement upon his return to start recouping the money they handed out.
Dallas spent heavily in free agency this summer, signing Hanzal and Alexander Radulov while inking Ben Bishop before he hit the open market. You’re bound to miss on some of the shots you take, but at 7-6 it isn’t quite the immediate turnaround they were hoping for. Hanzal’s contract isn’t back-breaking, but it’s certainly not helping the situation.
Justin Williams (CAR) – Two years, $4.5MM AAV
Season stats: 11 games, 1 goal, 8 assists, 9 points, -3 rating, 25 shots, 17:25 ATOI
For being 36 with over 1,200 NHL games on his body, Williams looks as fresh as ever. Returning to the place where he won his first (of three) Stanley Cup, Williams has added a different dimension to the Hurricanes. Though Carolina is still off to a shaky start, Williams is tied with Jeff Skinner as their leading scorer and has been as dominant as ever five-on-five.
While it’s unlikely he’ll carry this 67-point pace through the entire season, he’s an incredibly responsible defender and has always been an opportune goal scorer. The Hurricanes are off to a shaky start, but it’s not because of the Williams addition. His contract is so reasonable that it will invariably draw trade speculation if the Hurricanes aren’t in playoff contention at the deadline. It came with trade protection in the form of a 15-team no-trade list.
Kevin Shattenkirk (NYR) – Four years, $6.65MM AAV
Season stats: 14 games, 2 goals, 9 assists, 11 points, -4 rating, 27 shots, 21:33 ATOI
The prize of free agency was Shattenkirk, even with a poor showing in the playoffs for the Washington Capitals. No, he’s not an outstanding defender in his own end and he won’t lead the league in hits anytime soon. What he is though is an elite powerplay quarterback that can log big minutes and provide a positive impact in the possession game.
Shattenkirk has come just as advertised, scoring more in New York than anyone not named Mika Zibanejad or J.T. Miller. His offensive game is among the best in the league, but the Rangers are struggling to keep their head above water at 5-7-2. The 29-year old defenseman could have signed a longer deal somewhere else, but wanted to help New York get over the hump. If it starts to look bad in a few years, remember that it’s so front loaded that he’ll earn just $4MM in the final year of the deal (half of which is owed as a signing bonus).
Karl Alzner (MTL) – Five Years, $4.625MM AAV
Season stats: 13 games, 0 goals, 4 assists, 4 points, -6 rating, 12 shots, 20:28 ATOI
It’s not pretty in Montreal right now with the Canadiens off to a 4-8-1 start. There are many factors that have gone into that record, but Alzner is certainly one of them. For the UFA who signed the longest deal (along with Alexander Radulov) Alzner is sure making a pretty lukewarm first impression.
Alzner’s not without redeeming qualities. He logs a ton of ice time for the Canadiens against some top competition, and is a primary penalty killer. The problem, is that Montreal’s PK is among the worst in the league and they’ve been routinely out shot when he’s on the ice at even strength. He only recently turned 29, but Montreal won’t be able to rely on him for 20+ minutes for the entire length of the contract.